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THE  ART  AND  CRAFT  OF  PRINTING,  BY  WILLIAM 
MORRIS. 

A  NOTE  BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS  ON  HIS  AIMS  IN 
FOUNDING  THE  KELMSCOTT  PRESS,  TOGETHER 
WITH  A  SHORT  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PRESS  BY 
S.  C.  COCKERELL,  AND  AN  ANNOTATED  LIST  OF 
THE  BOOKS  PRINTED  THEREAT. 


Copyright,  1902 
ByH.M.O'Kane 


NOTE  BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS 
ON  HIS  AIMS  IN  FOUNDING 
THEKELMSCOTTPRESS/M 
BEGAN  printing  books  with 

I  &i  thehopeofproducingsome which 
n  would  have  a  definite  claim  to 
beauty,  while  at  the  same  time 
they  should  be  easy  to  read  and 
_  should  notdazzletheeye,ortrou' 
ble  the  intellect  of  the  reader  by  eccentric 
city  of  form  in  the  letters*  I  have  always 
been  a  great  admirer  of  the  calligraphy  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  &  of  the  earlier  printin  g 
which  took  its  place*  As  to  the  fifteenths 
century  books,  I  had  noticed  that  they 
were  always  beautiful  by  force  of  the  mere 
typography,  even  without  the  added  orx 
nament,  with  which  many  of  them  are 
so  lavishly  supplied*  And  it  was  the  es-* 
sence  of  my  undertaking  to  produce  books 
which  it  wouldbeapleasureto look  upon 
as  pieces  of  printing  and  arrangement  of 
type*  Lookingatmy  adventure  from  this 
point  of  view  then,  I  found  I  had  to  con^ 
sider  chiefly  the  following  things  *  the 
paper,  the  form  of  the  type,  the  relative 
spacing  of  the  letters,  the  words,  and  the 


Note  on  lines;  and  lastly  the  position  of  the  printed  matter  on  the 

founding  the         page.    It  was  a  matter  of  course  that  I  should  consider  it 
Kelmscott  necessary  that  the  paper  should  be  hand-made,  both  for 

Press  the  sake  of  durability  and  appearance.    It  would  be  a  very 

false  economy  to  stint  in  the  quality  of  the  paper  as  to  price: 
so  I  had  only  to  think  about  the  kind  of  hand-made  paper. 
On  this  head  I  came  to  two  conclusions:  1st,  that  the  paper 
must  be  wholly  of  linen  (most  hand-made  papers  are  of 
cotton  today),  and  must  be  quite  *  hard,'  i.  e.,  thoroughly 
well  sized;  and  2nd,  that,  though  it  must  be  'laid'  and  not 
'wove'  (i.  e.,  made  on  a  mould  made  of  obvious  wires), 
the  lines  caused  by  the  wires  of  the  mould  must  not  be  too 
strong,  so  as  to  give  a  ribbed  appearance.  I  found  that  on 
these  points  I  was  at  one  with  the  practice  of  the  paper- 
makers  of  the  fifteenth  century;  so  I  took  as  my  model  a 
Bolognese  paper  of  about  1473.  My  friend  Mr.  Batchelor, 
of  Little  Chart,  Kent,  carried  out  my  views  very  satisfactor- 
ily, and  produced  from  the  first  the  excellent  paper,  which 
I  still  use. 

Next  as  to  type.  By  instinct  rather  than  by  conscious 
thinking  it  over,  I  began  by  getting  myself  a  fount  of  Ro- 
man type.  And  here  what  I  wanted  was  letter  pure  in 
form;  severe,  without  needless  excrescences;  solid,  without 
the  thickening  and  thinning  of  the  line,  which  is  the  essen- 
tial fault  of  the  ordinary  modern  type,  and  which  makes 
it  difficult  to  read;  and  not  compressed  laterally,  as  all  later 
type  has  grown  to  be  owing  to  commercial  exigencies. 
There  was  only  one  source  from  which  to  take  examples 
of  this  perfected  Roman  type,  to  wit,  the  works  of  the 
great  Venetian  printers  of  the  fifteenth  century,  of  whom 
Nicholas  Jenson  produced  the  completest  and  most  Ro- 
man characters  from  1470  to  1476.  This  type  I  studied 
with  much  care,  getting  it  photographed  to  a  big  scale,  and 
drawing  it  over  many  times  before  I  began  designing  my 
own  letter;  so  that  though  I  think  I  mastered  the  essence 
of  it,  I  did  not  copy  it  servilely;  in  fact,  my  Roman  type, 
especially  in  the  lower  case,  tends  rather  more  to  the  Gothic 
than  does  Jenson's. 


After  a  while  I  felt  that  I  must  have  a  Gothic  as  well  as  a  Note  on 
Roman  fount;  and  herein  the  task  I  set  myself  was  to  re-  founding  the 
deem  the  Gothic  character  from  the  charge  of  unreadable-  Kelmscott 
ness  which  is  commonly  brought  against  it.  And  I  felt  that  Press 
this  charge  could  not  be  reasonably  brought  against  the 
types  of  the  first  two  decades  of  printing:  that  Schoeffer 
at  Mainz,  Mentelin  at  Strasburg,  and  Gunther  Zainer  at 
Augsburg,  avoided  the  spiky  ends  and  undue  compres- 
sion which  lay  some  of  the  later  type  open  to  the  above 
charge.  Only  the  earlier  printers  (naturally  following 
therein  the  practice  of  their  predecessors  the  scribes)  were 
very  liberal  of  contractions,  and  used  an  excess  of  'tied' 
letters,  which,  by  the  way,  are  very  useful  to  the  composi- 
tor. So  I  entirely  eschewed  contractions,  except  for  the 
'  &,'  and  had  very  few  tied  letters,  in  fact  none  but  the 
absolutely  necessary  ones.  Keeping  my  end  steadily  in 
view,  I  designed  a  black-letter  type  which  I  think  I  may 
claim  to  be  as  readable  as  a  Roman  one,  and  to  say  the 
truth  I  prefer  it  to  the  Roman.  This  type  is  of  the  size 
called  Great  Primer  (the  Roman  type  is  of  'English'  size); 
but  later  on  I  was  driven  by  the  necessities  of  the  Chaucer 
(a  double-columned  book)  to  get  a  smaller  Gothic  type  of 
Pica  size. 

The  punches  for  all  these  types,  I  may  mention,  were  cut 
for  me  with  great  intelligence  and  skill  by  Mr.  E.  P.  Prince, 
and  render  my  designs  most  satisfactorily. 
Now  as  to  the  spacing:  First,  the  'face'  of  the  letter  should 
be  as  nearly  conterminous  with  the  'body'  as  possible,  so 
as  to  avoid  undue  whites  between  the  letters.  Next,  the 
lateral  spaces  between  the  words  should  be  (a)  no  more 
than  is  necessary  to  distinguish  clearly  the  division  into 
words,  and  (b)  should  be  as  nearly  equal  as  possible.  Mod- 
ern printers,  even  the  best,  pay  very  little  heed  to  these 
two  essentials  of  seemly  composition,  and  the  inferior  ones 
run  riot  in  licentious  spacing,  thereby  producing,  inter 
alia,  those  ugly  rivers  of  lines  running  about  the  page  which 
are  such  a  blemish  to  decent  printing.  Third,  the  whites 
between  the  lines  should  not  be  excessive;  the  modern 

3 


Note  on  practice  of  'leading'  should  be  used  as  little  as  possible, 

founding  the         and  never  without  some  definite  reason,  such  as  marking 
Kelmscott  some  special  piece  of  printing.    The  only  leading  I  have 

Press  allowed  myself  is  in  some  cases  a  'thin'  lead  between  the 

lines  of  my  Gothic  pica  type :  in  the  Chaucer  and  the  double- 
columned  books  I  have  used  a  'hair'  lead,  and  not  even 
this  in  the  16mo  books.  Lastly,  but  by  no  means  least, 
comes  the  position  of  the  printed  matter  on  the  page.  This 
should  always  leave  the  inner  margin  the  narrowest,  the 
top  somewhat  wider,  the  outside  (fore-edge)  wider  still, 
and  the  bottom  widest  of  all.  This  rule  is  never  departed 
from  in  mediaeval  books,  written  or  printed.  Modern  print- 
ers systematically  trangress  against  it;  thus  apparently  con- 
tradicting the  fact  that  the  unit  of  a  book  is  not  one  page, 
but  a  pair  of  pages.  A  friend,  the  librarian  of  one  of  our 
most  important  private  libraries,  tells  me  that  after  care- 
ful testing  he  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  mediaeval 
rule  was  to  make  a  difference  of  20  per  cent,  from  margin 
to  margin.  Now  these  matters  of  spacing  and  position  are 
of  the  greatest  importance  in  the  production  of  beautiful 
books;  if  they  are  properly  considered  they  will  make  a 
book  printed  in  quite  ordinary  type  at  least  decent  and 
pleasant  to  the  eye.  The  disregard  of  them  will  spoil  the 
effect  of  the  best  designed  type. 

It  was  only  natural  that  I,  a  decorator  by  profession,  should 
attempt  to  ornament  my  books  suitably:  about  this  matter, 
I  will  only  say  that  I  have  always  tried  to  keep  in  mind 
the  necessity  for  making  my  decoration  a  part  of  the  page 
of  type.  I  may  add  that  in  designing  the  magnificent  and 
inimitable  woodcuts  which  have  adorned  several  of  my 
books,  and  will  above  all  adorn  the  Chaucer  which  is  now 
drawing  near  completion,  my  friend  Sir  Edward  Burne- 
Jones  has  never  lost  sight  of  this  important  point,  so  that 
his  work  will  not  only  give  us  a  series  of  most  beautiful 
and  imaginative  pictures,  but  form  the  most  harmonious 
decoration  possible  to  the  printed  book. 

Kelmscott  House,  Upper  Mall,  Hammersmith.  Nov.11,1895 
4 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE        Note  on 
KELMSCOTT  PRESS.  founding  the 

The  foregoing  artitcle  was  written  at  the  request  of  a  Lon-  Kelmscott 
don  bookseller  for  an  American  client  who  was  about  to  Press 
read  a  paper  on  the  Kelmscott  Press.  As  the  Press  is  now 
closing,  and  its  seven  years'  existence  will  soon  be  a  mat- 
ter of  history,  it  seems  fitting  to  set  down  some  other  facts 
concerning  it  while  they  can  still  be  verified;  the  more  so 
as  statements  founded  on  imperfect  information  have  ap- 
peared from  time  to  time  in  newspapers  arid  reviews. 
As  early  as  1866  an  edition  of  The  Earthly  Paradise  was 
projected,  which  was  to  have  been  a  folio  in  double  col- 
umns, profusely  illustrated  by  Sir  Edward  Burne- Jones, 
and  typographically  superior  to  the  books  of  that  time. 
The  designs  for  the  stories  of  Cupid  and  Psyche,  Pygma- 
lion and  the  Image,  The  Ring  given  to  Venus,  and  the  Hill 
of  Venus,  were  finished,  and  forty-four  of  those  for  Cupid 
and  Pysche  were  engraved  on  wood  in  line,  somewhat  in 
the  manner  of  the  early  German  masters.  About  thirty- 
five  of  the  blocks  were  executed  by  William  Morris  him- 
self, and  the  remainder  by  George  Y.  Wardle,  G.  F.  Camp- 
field,  C.  J.  Faulkner,  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Burden.  Speci- 
men pages  were  set  up  in  Caslon  type,  and  in  the  Chis- 
wick  Press  type  afterwards  used  in  The  House  of  the 
Wolfings,  but  for  various  reasons  the  project  went  no  fur- 
ther. Four  or  five  years  later  there  was  a  plan  for  an  illus- 
trated edition  of  Love  is  Enough,  for  which  two  initial  L's 
and  seven  side  ornaments  were  drawn  and  engraved  by 
William  Morris.  Another  marginal  ornament  was  engraved 
by  him  from  a  design  by  Sir  E.  Burne-Jones,  who  also 
drew  a  picture  for  the  frontispiece,  which  has  now  been 
engraved  by  W.  H.  Hooper  for  the  final  page  of  the  Kelm- 
scott Press  edition  of  the  work.  These  side  ornaments, 
three  of  which  appear  on  the  opposite  page,  are  more  deli- 
cate than  any  that  were  designed  for  the  Kelmscott  Press, 
but  they  show  that  when  the  Press  was  started  the  idea 
of  reviving  some  of  the  decorative  features  of  the  earliest 
printed  books  had  been  long  in  its  founder's  mind.  At  this 

5 


Note  on  same  period,  in  the  early  seventies,  he  was  much  absorbed  in 

founding  the         the  study  of  ancient  manuscripts,  and  in  writing  out  and  illu- 
Kelmscott  minating  various  books,  including  a  Horace  and  an  Omar 

Press  Khayyam,  which  may  have  led  histhoughts  away  f  romprint- 

ing.  In  any  case,  the  plan  of  an  illustrated  Love  is  Enough, 
like  that  of  the  folio  Earthly  Paradise,  was  abandoned. 
Although  the  books  written  by  William  Morris  continued 
to  be  reasonably  printed,  it  was  not  until  about  1888  that 
he  again  paid  much  attention  to  typography.  He  was  then, 
and  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  when  not  away  from  Hammer- 
smith, in  daily  communication  with  his  friend  and  neigh- 
bour Emery  Walker,  whose  views  on  the  subject  coincided 
with  his  own,  and  who  had  besides  a  practical  knowledge 
of  the  technique  of  printing.  These  views  were  first  ex- 
pressed in  an  article  by  Mr.  Walker  in  the  catalogue  of  the 
exhibition  of  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Exhibition  Society,  held 
at  the  New  Gallery  in  the  autumn  of  1888.  As  a  result  of 
many  conversations,  The  House  of  the  Wolf  ings  was  printed 
at  the  Chiswick  Press  at  this  time,  with  a  special  type  mod- 
elled on  an  old  Basel  fount,  unleaded,  and  with  due  regard 
to  proportion  in  the  margins.  The  title-page  was  also  care- 
fully arranged.  In  the  following  year  The  Roots  of  the 
Mountains  was  printed  with  the  same  type  (except  the 
lower  case  e),  but  with  a  differently  proportioned  page, 
and  with  shoulder-notes  instead  of  head-lines.  This  book 
was  published  in  November,  1889,  and  its  author  declared 
it  to  be  the  best-looking  book  issued  since  the  seventeenth 
century.  Instead  of  large  paper  copies,  which  had  been 
found  unsatisfactory  in  the  case  of  The  House  of  the  Wolf- 
ings,  two  hundred  and  fifty  copies  were  printed  on  What- 
man paper  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  paper  of  the  or- 
dinary copies.  A  small  stock  of  this  paper  remained  over, 
and  in  order  to  dispose  of  it  seventy-five  copies  of  the 
translation  of  the  Gunnlaug  Saga,  which  first  appeared  in 
the  Fortnightly  Review  of  January,  1869,  and  afterwards 
in  Three  Northern  Love  Stories,  were  printed  at  the  Chis- 
wick Press.  The  type  used  was  a  black-letter  copied  from 
one  of  Caxton's  founts,  and  the  initials  were  left  blank  to 
6 


Note  on 
founding  the 
Kelmscott 
Press 


Ornaments  designed  and  engraved  for  Love  is  Enough, 


Note  on  be  rubicated  by  hand.   Three  copies  were  printed  on  vel- 

founding  the         lum.    This  little  book  was  not  however  finished  until  No- 

Kelmscott  vember,  1890. 

Press  Meanwhile  William  Morris  had  resolved  to  design  a  type 

of  his  own.  Immediately  after  The  Roots  of  the  Moun- 
tains appeared,  he  set  to  work  upon  it,  and  in  December, 
1889,  he  asked  Mr.  Walker  to  go  into  partnership  with 
him  as  a  printer.  This  offer  was  declined  by  Mr.  Walker; 
but,  though  not  concerned  with  the  financial  side  of  the 
enterprise,  he  was  virtually  a  partner  in  the  Kelmscott 
Press  from  its  first  beginnings  to  its  end,  and  no  important 
step  was  taken  without  his  advice  and  approval.  Indeed, 
the  original  intention  was  to  have  the  books  set  up  in 
Hammersmith  and  printed  at  his  office  in  Clifford's  Inn. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  William  Morris  began  to  collect 
the  mediaeval  books  of  which  he  formed  so  fine  a  library 
in  the  next  six  years.  He  had  made  a  small  collection  of 
such  books  years  before,  but  had  parted  with  most  of 
them,  to  his  great  regret.  He  now  bought  with  the  defi- 
nite purpose  of  studying  the  type  and  methods  of  the  early 
printers.  Among  the  first  books  so  acquired  was  a  copy 
of  Leonard  of  Arezzo's  History  of  Florence,  printed  at 
Venice  by  Jacobus  Rubeus  in  1476,  in  a  Roman  type  very 
similar  to  that  of  Nicholas  Jenson.  Parts  of  this  book  and 
of  Jenson's  Pliny  of  1476  were  enlarged  by  photography 
in  order  to  bring  out  more  clearly  the  characteristics  of 
the  various  letters;  and  having  mastered  both  their  virtues 
and  defects,  William  Morris  proceeded  to  design  the  fount 
of  type  which,  in  the  list  of  December,  1892,  he  named  the 
Golden  type,  from  The  Golden  Legend,  which  was  to  have 
been  the  first  book  printed  with  it.  This  fount  consists  of 
eighty-one  designs,  including  stops,  figures,  and  tied  letters. 
The  lower  case  alphabet  was  finished  in  a  few  months. 
The  first  letter  having  been  cut  in  Great  Primer  size  by 
Mr.  Prince,  was  thought  too  large,  and  'English'  was  the 
size  resolved  upon.  By  the  middle  of  August,  1890,  eleven 
punches  had  been  cut.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  fount 
was  all  but  complete. 
8 


On  Jan.  12th,  1891,  a  cottage,  No.  16,  Upper  Mall,  was  taken.  Note  on 
Mr.  William  Bowden,  a  retired  master-printer,  had  already  founding  the 
been  engaged  to  act  as  compositor  and  pressman.  Enough  Kelmscott 
type  was  then  cast  for  a  trial  page,  which  was  set  up  and 
printed  on  Saturday,  Jan.  31st,  on  a  sample  of  the  paper 
that  was  being  made  for  the  Press  by  J.  Batchelor  and  Son. 
About  a  fortnight  later  ten  reams  of  paper  were  delivered. 
On  Feb.  18th  a  good  supply  of  type  followed.  Mr.  W.  H. 
Bowden,  who  subsequently  became  overseer,  then  joined 
his  father  as  compositor,  and  the  first  chapters  of  The  Glit- 
tering Plain  were  set  up.  The  first  sheet  appears  to  have 
been  printed  on  March  2nd,  when  the  staff  was  increased 
to  three  by  the  addition  of  a  pressman  named  Giles,  who 
left  as  soon  as  the  book  was  finished.  A  friend  who  saw 
William  Morris  on  the  day  after  the  printing  of  the  page 
above  mentioned  recalls  his  elation  at  the  success  of  his 
new  type.  The  first  volume  of  the  Saga  Library,  a  credit- 
able piece  of  printing,  was  brought  out  and  put  beside  this 
trial  page,  which  much  more  than  held  its  own.  The  poet 
then  declared  his  intention  to  set  to  work  immediately  on 
a  black-letter  fount;  illness,  however,  intervened  and  it 
was  not  begun  until  June.  The  lower  case  alphabet  was 
finished  by  the  beginning  of  August,  with  the  exception  of 
the  tied  letters,  the  designs  for  which,  with  those  for  the 
capitals,  were  sent  to  Mr.  Prince  on  September  11th.  Early 
in  November  enough  type  was  cast  for  two  trial  pages, 
the  one  consisting  of  twenty-six  lines  of  Chaucer's  Frank- 
lin's Tale  and  the  other  of  sixteen  lines  of  Sigurd  the  Vol- 
sung.  In  each  of  these  a  capital  I  is  used  that  was  imme- 
diately discarded.  On  the  last  day  of  1891  the  full  stock 
of  Troy  type  was  despatched  from  the  foundry.  Its  first 
appearance  was  in  a  paragraph,  announcing  the  book  from 
which  it  took  its  name,  in  the  list  dated  May,  1892. 
This  Troy  type,  which  its  designer  preferred  to  either  of 
the  others,  shows  the  influence  of  the  beautiful  early  types 
of  Peter  Schoeffer  of  Mainz,  Gunther  Zainer  of  Augsburg, 
and  Anthony  Koburger  of  Nuremberg ;  but,  even  more  than 
the  Golden  type,  it  has  a  strong  character  of  its  own,  which 

9 


Note  on  differs  largely  from  that  of  any  mediaeval  fount.    It  has 

founding  the         recently  been  pirated  abroad,  and  is  advertised  by  an  en- 
Kelmscott  terprising  German  firm  as  'Die  amerikanische  Triumph- 

Press  Gothisch.'   The  Golden  type  has  perhaps  fared  worse  in 

being  remodelled  in  the  United  States,  whence,  with  much 
of  its  character  lost,  it  has  found  its  way  back  to  England 
under  the  names  'Venetian,'  'Italian,'  and  'Jenson.'  It  is 
strange  that  no  one  has  yet  had  the  good  sense  to  have 
the  actual  type  of  Nicholas  Jenson  reproduced. 
The  third  type  used  at  the  Kelmscott  Press,  called  the 
'Chaucer,'  differs  from  the  Troy  type  only  in  size,  being 
Pica  instead  of  Great  Primer.  It  was  cut  by  Mr.  Prince 
between  February  and  May,  1892,  and  was  ready  in  June. 
Its  first  appearance  is  in  the  list  of  chapters  and  glossary 
of  The  Recuyell  of  the  Historyes  of  Troye,  which  was 
issued  on  November  24th,  1892. 

On  June  2nd  of  that  year,  William  Morris  wrote  to  Mr. 
Prince:  'I  believe  in  about  three  months'  time  I  shall  be 
ready  with  a  new  set  of  sketches  for  a  fount  of  type  on 
English  body.'  These  sketches  were  not  forthcoming;  but 
on  Nov.  5th,  1892,  he  bought  a  copy  of  Augustinus  De 
Civitate  Dei,  printed  at  the  Monastery  of  Subiaco  near 
Rome  by  Sweynheym  and  Pannartz,  with  a  rather  com- 
pressed type,  which  appears  in  only  three  known  books. 
He  at  once  designed  a  lower  case  alphabet  on  this  model, 
but  was  not  satisfied  with  it  and  did  not  have  it  cut.  This 
was  his  last  actual  experiment  in  the  designing  of  type, 
though  he  sometimes  talked  of  designing  a  new  fount,  and 
of  having  the  Golden  type  cut  in  a  larger  size. 
Next  in  importance  to  the  type  are  the  initials,  borders, 
and  ornaments  designed  by  William  Morris.  The  first  book 
contains  a  single  recto  border  and  twenty  different  initials. 
In  the  next  book,  Poems  by  the  Way,  the  number  of  dif- 
ferent initials  is  fifty-nine.  These  early  initials,  many  of 
which  were  soon  discarded,  are  for  the  most  part  sugges- 
tive, like  the  first  border,  of  the  ornament  in  Italian  manu- 
scripts of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  Blunt's  Love  Lyrics  there 
are  seven  letters  of  a  new  alphabet,  with  backgrounds  of 
10 


naturalesque  grapes  and  vine  leaves,  the  result  of  a  visit  Note  on 
to  Beauvais,  where  the  great  porches  are  carved  with  vines,  founding  the 
in  August,  1 891 .  From  that  time  onwards  fresh  designs  were  Kelmscott 
constantly  added,  the  tendency  being  always  towards  larger  Press 
foliage  and  lighter  backgrounds,  as  the  early  initials  were 
found  to  be  sometimes  too  dark  for  the  type.  The  total 
number  of  initials  of  various  sizes  designed  for  the  Kelm- 
scott Press,  including  a  few  that  were  engraved  but  never 
used,  is  three  hundred  and  eighty -four.  Of  the  letter  T 
alone  there  are  no  less  than  thirty-four  varieties. 
The  total  number  of  different  borders  engraved  for  the 
Press,  including  one  that  was  not  used,  but  excluding  the 
three  borders  designed  for  The  Earthly  Paradise  by  R. 
Catterson-Smith,  is  fifty-seven.  The  first  book  to  contain 
a  marginal  ornament,  other  than  these  full  borders,  was 
The  Defence  of  Guenevere,  which  has  a  half-border  on 
p.  74.  There  are  two  others  in  the  preface  to  The  Golden 
Legend.  The  Recuyell  of  the  Historyes  of  Troye  is  the 
first  book  in  which  there  is  a  profusion  of  such  ornament. 
One  hundred  and  eight  different  designs  for  marginal  or- 
naments were  engraved.  Besides  the  above-named  de- 
signs, there  are  seven  frames  for  the  pictures  in  The  Glit- 
tering Plain,  one  frame  for  those  in  a  projected  edition  of 
The  House  of  the  Wolfings,  nineteen  frames  for  the  pic- 
tures in  the  Chaucer  (one  of  which  was  not  used  in  the 
book),  twenty-eight  title-pages  and  inscriptions,  twenty- 
six  large  initial  words  for  the  Chaucer,  seven  initial  words 
for  The  Well  at  the  World's  End  and  The  Water  of  the 
Wondrous  Isles,  four  line-endings,  and  three  printer's 
marks,  making  a  total  of  six  hundred  and  forty-four  de- 
signs by  William  Morris,  drawn  and  engraved  within  seven 
years.  All  the  initials  and  ornaments  that  recur  were  printed 
from  electrotypes,  while  most  of  the  title-pages  and  initial 
words  were  printed  direct  from  the  wood.  The  illustra- 
tions by  Sir  Edward  Burne- Jones,  Walter  Crane,  and  C.  M. 
Gere  were  also,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  printed  from 
the  wood.  The  original  designs  by  Sir  E.  Burne-Jones 
were  nearly  all  in  pencil,  and  were  redrawn  in  ink  by 

11 


Note  on  R.  Catterson-Smith,  and  in  af  ew cases  by  C.  Fairfax  Murray ; 

founding  the         they  were  then  revised  by  the  artist  and  transferred  to  the 

Kelmscott  wood  by  means  of  photography.    The  twelve  designs  by 

Press  A.  J.  Gaskin  for  Spenser's  Shepheardes  Calendar,  the  map 

in  The  Sundering  Flood,  and  the  thirty-five  reproductions 

in  Some  German  Woodcuts  of  the  Fifteenth  Century,  were 

printed  from  process  blocks. 

All  the  wood  blocks  for  initials,  ornaments,  and  illustra- 
tions, were  engraved  by  W.  H.  Hooper,  C.  E.  Keates,  and 
W.  Spielmeyer,  except  the  twenty-three  blocks  for  The 
Glittering  Plain,  which  were  engraved  by  A.  Leverett,  and 
a  few  of  the  earliest  initials,  engraved  by  G.  F.  Campfield. 
The  whole  of  these  wood  blocks  have  been  sent  to  the 
British  Museum,  and  have  been  accepted  with  a  condition 
that  they  shall  not  be  reproduced  or  printed  from  for  the 
space  of  a  hundred  years.  The  electrotypes  have  been 
destroyed.  In  taking  this  course,  which  was  sanctioned 
by  William  Morris  when  the  matter  was  talked  of  shortly 
before  his  death,  the  aim  of  the  trustees  has  been  to  keep 
the  series  of  Kelmscott  Press  books  as  a  thing  apart,  and 
to  prevent  the  designs  becoming  stale  by  constant  repeti- 
tion. Many  of  them  have  been  stolen  and  parodied  in 
America,  but  in  this  country  they  are  fortunately  copy- 
right. The  type  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  trustees,  and  will 
be  used  for  the  printing  of  its  designer's  works,  should  spe- 
cial editions  be  called  for.  Other  books  of  which  he  would 
have  approved  may  also  be  printed  with  it;  the  absence  of 
initials  and  ornament  will  always  distinguish  them  suffi- 
ciently from  the  books  printed  at  the  Kelmscott  Press. 
The  nature  of  the  English  handmade  paper  used  at  the 
Press  has  been  described  by  William  Morris  in  the  fore- 
going article.  It  was  at  first  supplied  in  sheets  of  which 
the  dimensions  were  sixteen  inches  by  eleven.  Each  sheet 
had  as  a  watermark  a  conventional  primrose  between  the 
initials  W.  M.  As  stated  above,  The  Golden  Legend  was 
to  have  been  the  first  book  put  in  hand,  but  as  only  two 
pages  could  have  been  printed  at  a  time,  and  this  would 
have  made  it  very  costly,  paper  of  double  the  size  was 
12 


ordered  for  this  work,  and  The  Story  of  the  Glittering  Note  on 
Plain  was  begun  instead.  This  book  is  a  small  quarto,  as  founding  the 
are  its  five  immediate  successors,  each  sheet  being  folded  Kelmscott 
twice.  The  last  ream  of  the  smaller  size  of  paper  was  used  Press 
on  The  Order  of  Chivalry.  All  the  other  volumes  of  that 
series  are  printed  in  octavo,  on  paper  of  the  double  size. 
For  the  Chaucer  a  stouter  and  slightly  larger  paper  was 
needed.  This  has  for  its  watermark  a  Perch  with  a  spray 
in  its  mouth.  Many  of  the  large  quarto  books  were  printed 
on  this  paper,  of  which  the  first  two  reams  were  delivered 
in  February,  1893.  Only  one  other  size  of  paper  was  used 
at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  The  watermark  of  this  is  an  Apple, 
with  the  initials  W.  M.,  as  in  the  other  two  watermarks. 
The  books  printed  on  this  paper  are  The  Earthly  Paradise, 
The  Floure  and  the  Leaf e,  The  Shepheardes  Calender,  and 
Sigurd  the  Volsung.  The  last-named  is  a  folio,  and  the 
open  book  shows  the  size  of  the  sheet,  which  is  about  eigh- 
teen inches  by  thirteen.  The  first  supply  of  this  Apple  pa- 
per was  delivered  on  March  15, 1895. 
Except  in  the  case  of  Blunts  Love  Lyrics,  The  Nature  of 
Gothic,  Biblia  Innocentium,  The  Golden  Legend,  and  The 
Book  of  Wisdom  and  Lies,  a  few  copies  of  all  the  books 
were  printed  on  vellum.  The  six  copies  of  The  Glittering 
Plain  were  printed  on  very  fine  vellum  obtained  from  Rome, 
of  which  it  was  impossible  to  get  a  second  supply  as  it  was 
all  required  by  the  Vatican.  The  vellum  for  the  other  books, 
except  for  two  or  three  copies  of  Poems  by  the  Way,  which 
were  on  the  Roman  vellum,  was  supplied  by  H.  Band  of 
Brentford,  and  by  W.  J.  Turney  &  Co.  of  Stourbridge. 
There  are  three  complete  vellum  sets  in  existence,  and  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  completing  a  set  after  the  copies  are 
scattered,  makes  it  unlikely  that  there  will  ever  be  a  fourth. 
The  black  ink  which  proved  most  satisfactory,  after  that  of 
more  than  one  English  firm  had  been  tried,  was  obtained 
from  Hanover.  William  Morris  often  spoke  of  making  his 
own  ink,  in  order  to  be  certain  of  the  ingredients,  but  his 
intention  was  never  carried  out. 

The  binding  of  the  books  in  vellum  and  in  half-holland 

13 


Note  on  was  from  the  first  done  by  J.  &  J.  Leighton.    Most  of  the 

founding  the         vellum  used  was  white,  or  nearly  so,  but  William  Morris 
Kelmscott  himself  preferred  it  dark,  and  the  skins  showing  brown 

Press  hair-marks  were  reserved  for  the  binding  of  his  own  copies 

of  the  books.  The  silk  ties  of  four  colours,  red,  blue,  yellow, 
and  green,  were  specially  woven  and  dyed. 
In  the  following  section  fifty-two  works,  in  sixty-six  vol- 
umes, are  described  as  having  been  printed  at  the  Kelm- 
scott Press,  besides  the  two  pages  of  Froissart's  Chronicles. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  only  hand  presses  have 
been  used,  of  the  type  known  as '  Albion.'  In  the  early  days 
there  was  only  one  press  on  which  the  books  were  printed, 
besides  a  small  press  for  taking  proofs.  At  the  end  of  May, 
1891,  larger  premises  were  taken  at  14,  Upper  Mall,  next 
door  to  the  cottage  already  referred  to,  which  was  given 
up  in  June.  In  November,  1891,  a  second  press  was  bought, 
as  The  Golden  Legend  was  not  yet  half  finished,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  the  last  of  its  1286  pages  would  never 
be  reached.  Three  years  later  another  small  house  was 
taken,  No.  14  being  still  retained.  This  was  No.  21,  Upper 
Mall,  overlooking  the  river,  which  acted  as  a  reflector,  so 
that  there  was  an  excellent  light  for  printing.  In  January, 
1895,  a  third  press,  specially  made  for  the  work,  was  set 
up  here  in  order  that  two  presses  might  be  employed  on 
the  Chaucer.  This  press  has  already  passed  into  other 
hands,  and  the  little  house,  with  its  many  associations,  and 
its  pleasant  outlook  towards  Chiswick  and  Mortlake,  is 
now  being  transformed  into  a  granary.  The  last  sheet 
printed  there  was  that  on  which  are  the  frontispiece  and 
title  of  this  book. 

14,  Upper  Mall,  Hammersmith,  January  4, 1898. 


14 


AN  ANNOTATED  LIST  OF  ALL  THE  BOOKS  PRINT-        Note  on 
ED  AT  THE  KELMSCOTT  PRESS  IN  THE  ORDER  IN        founding  the 
WHICH  THEY  WERE  ISSUED.  Kelmscott 

Note:  The  borders  are  numbered  as  far  as  possible  in  the         Press 
order  of  their  first  appearance,  those  which  appear  on  a 
verso  or  left  hand  page  being  distinguished  by  the  addi- 
tion of  the  letter  'a'  to  the  numbers  of  the  recto  borders 
of  similar  design. 

1 .  THE  STORY  OF  THE  GLITTERING  PLAIN.  WHICH 
HAS  BEEN  ALSO  CALLED  THE  LAND  OF  LIVING 
MEN  OR  THE  ACRE  OF  THE  UNDYING.  WRITTEN 
BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  Small  4to.  Golden  type.  Border 

1.  200  paper  copies  at  two  guineas,  and  6  on  vellum.  Dated 
April  4,  issued  May  8,  1891.  Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner. 
Bound  in  stiff  vellum  with  washleather  ties. 

This  book  was  set  up  from  Nos.  81-4  of  the  English  Illus- 
trated Magazine,  in  which  it  first  appeared;  some  of  the 
chapter  headings  were  re-arranged,  and  a  few  small  cor- 
rections were  made  in  the  text.  A  trial  page,  the  first  printed 
at  the  Press,  was  struck  off  on  January  31, 1891,  but  the  first 
sheet  was  not  printed  until  about  a  month  later.  The  border 
was  designed  in  January  of  the  same  year,  and  engraved  by 
W.  H.  Hooper.  Mr.  Morris  had  four  of  the  vellum  copies 
bound  in  green  vellum,  three  of  which  he  gave  to  friends. 
Only  two  copies  on  vellum  were  sold,  at  twelve  and  fifteen 
guineas.  This  was  the  only  book  with  washleather  ties.  All 
the  other  vellum-bound  books  have  silk  ties,  except  Shelley's 
Poems  and  Hand  and  Soul,  which  have  no  ties. 

2.  POEMS  BY  THE  WAY.  WRITTEN  BY  WILLIAM 
MORRIS.  Small  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Bor- 
der 1.  300  paper  copies  at  two  guineas,  13  on  vellum  at 
about  twelve  guineas.  Dated  Sept.  24,  issued  Oct.  20, 1891. 
Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner.    Bound  in  stiff  vellum. 

This  was  thefirst  book  printed  at  the  Kelmscott  Press  in  two 
colours,  and  the  first  book  in  which  the  smaller  printer's 
mark  appeared.  After  The  Glittering  Plain  was  finished, 
at  the  beginning  of  April,  no  printing  was  done  until  May 
11.  In  the  meanwhile  the  compositors  were  busy  setting  up 

15 


Note  on  the  early  sheets  of  the  Golden  Legend.    The  printing  of 

founding  the         Poems  by  the  Way,  which  its  author  first  thought  of  call- 
Kelmscott  ing  Flores  Atramenti,  was  not  begun  until  July.  The  poems 

Press  in  it  were  written  at  various  times.    In  the  manuscript, 

Hafbur  and  Signy  is  dated  February  4, 1870;  Hildebrand 
and  Hillilel,  March  1, 1871 ;  and  Love's  Reward,  Kelmscott, 
April  21, 1871.  Meeting  in  Winter  is  a  song  from  The  Story 
of  Orpheus,  an  unpublished  poem  intended  for  The  Earthly 
Paradise.  The  last  poem  in  the  book,  Goldilocks  and  Goldi- 
locks, was  written  on  May  20, 1891,  for  the  purpose  of  add- 
ing to  the  bulk  of  the  volume,  which  was  then  being  pre- 
pared. A  few  of  the  vellum  covers  were  stained  at  Merton 
red,  yellow,  indigo,  and  dark  green,  but  the  experiment 
was  not  successful. 

3.  THE  LOVE-LYRICS  AND  SONGS  OF  PROTEUS 
BY  WILFRID  SCAWEN  BLUNT  WITH  THE  LOVE- 
SONNETS  OF  PROTEUS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 
NOW  REPRINTED  IN  THEIR  FULL  TEXT  WITH 
MANY  SONNETS  OMITTED  FROM  THE  EARLIER 
EDITIONS.  LONDON  MDCCCXCII.  Small  4to.  Golden 
type.  In  black  and  red.  Border  1.  300  paper  copies  at  two 
guineas,  none  on  vellum.  Dated  Jan.  26,  issued  Feb.  27, 
1892.  Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner.  Bound  in  stiff  vellum. 
This  is  the  only  book  in  which  the  initials  are  printed  in 
red.    This  was  done  by  the  author's  wish. 

4.  THE  NATURE  OF  GOTHIC  A  CHAPTER  OF  THE 
STONES  OF  VENICE.  BY  JOHN  RUSKIN.  With  a  pre- 
face by  William  Morris.  Small  4to.  Golden  type.  Border  1. 
Diagrams  in  text.  500  paper  copies  at  thirty  shillings,  none 
on  vellum.  Dated  in  preface  February  15,  issued  March 
22,1892.  Published  by  George  Allen.  Bound  in  stiff  vellum. 
This  chapter  of  the  Stones  of  Venice,  which  Ruskin  always 
considered  the  most  important  in  the  book,  was  first  printed 
separately  in  1854  as  a  sixpenny  pamphlet.  Mr.  Morris  paid 
more  than  one  tribute  to  it  in  Hopes  and  Fears  for  Art.  Of 
him  Ruskin  said  in  1887,  'Morris  is  beaten  gold.' 

5.  THE  DEFENCE  OF  GUENEVERE,  AND  OTHER 
POEMS.    BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.    Small  4to.    Golden 

16 


type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  2  and  1.  300  paper  copies         Note  on 
at  two  guineas,  ten  on  vellum  at  about  twelve  guineas.         founding  the 
Dated  April  2,  issued  May  19,  1892.    Sold  by  Reeves  &         Kelmscott 
Turner.    Bound  in  limp  vellum.  Press 

This  book  was  set  up  from  a  copy  of  the  edition  published 
by  Reeves  &  Turner  in  1889,  the  only  alteration,  except  a 
few  corrections,  being  in  the  11th  line  of  Summer  Dawn. 
It  is  divided  into  three  parts,  the  poems  suggested  by  Mal- 
ory's Morte  d' Arthur,  the  poems  inspired  by  Froissart's 
Chronicles,  and  poems  on  various  subjects.  The  two  first 
sections  have  borders,  and  the  last  has  a  half -border.  The 
first  sheet  was  printed  on  February  17,  1892.  It  was  the 
first  book  bound  in  limp  vellum,  and  the  only  one  of  which 
the  title  was  inscribed  by  hand  on  the  back. 

6.  A  DREAM  OF  JOHN  BALL  AND  A  KING'S  LES- 
SON. BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  Small  4to.  Golden  type. 
In  black  and  red.  Borders  3a,  4,  and  2.  With  a  woodcut 
designed  by  Sir  E.  Burne-Jones.  300  paper  copies  at  thirty 
shillings,  eleven  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas.  Dated  May  13, 
issued  Sept.  24, 1892.  Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

This  was  set  up  with  a  few  alterations  from  a  copy  of 
Reeves  &  Turner's  third  edition,  and  the  printing  was  be- 
gun on  April  4, 1892.  The  frontispiece  was  redrawn  from 
that  to  the  first  edition,  and  engraved  on  wood  by  W.  H. 
Hooper,  who  engraved  all  Sir  E.  Burne-Jones'  designs  for 
the  Kelmscott  Press,  except  those  for  The  Wood  beyond 
the  World  and  The  Life  and  Death  of  Jason.  The  inscrip- 
tion below  the  figures,  and  the  narrow  border,  were  de- 
signed by  Mr.  Morris,  and  engraved  with  the  picture  on 
one  block,  which  was  afterwards  used  on  a  leaflet  printed 
for  the  Ancoats  Brotherhood  in  February,  1894. 

7.  THE  GOLDEN  LEGEND.  By  Jacobus  de  Voragine. 
Translated  by  William  Caxton.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis.  3 
vols.  Large  4to.  Golden  type.  Borders  5a,  5,  6a,  and  7. 
Woodcut  title  and  two  woodcuts  designed  by  Sir  E.  Burne- 
Jones.  500  paper  copies  at  five  guineas,  none  on  vellum. 
Dated  Sept.  12,  issued  Nov.  3, 1892.  Published  by  Bernard 

17 


Note  on  Quaritch.  Bound  in  half -holland,  with  paper  labels  printed 

founding  the        in  the  Troy  type. 

Kelmscott  In  July,  1890,  when  only  a  few  letters  of  the  Golden  type 

Press  had  been  cut,  Mr.  Morris  bought  a  copy  of  this  book,  printed 

by  Wynkyn  de  Worde  in  1527.  He  soon  afterwards  deter- 
mined to  print  it,  and  on  Sept.  11  entered  into  a  formal 
agreement  with  Mr.  Quaritch  for  its  publication.  It  was  only 
an  unforeseen  difficulty  about  the  size  of  the  first  stock  of 
paper  that  led  to  The  Golden  Legend  not  being  the  first  book 
put  in  hand.  It  was  set  up  from  a  transcript  of  Caxton's  first 
edition,  lent  by  the  Syndics  of  the  Cambridge  University 
Library  for  the  purpose.  A  trial  page  was  got  out  in  March, 
1891,  and  50  pages  were  in  type  by  May  11,  the  day  on 
which  the  first  sheet  was  printed.  The  first  volume  was 
finished,  with  the  exception  of  the  illustrations  and  the  pre- 
liminary matter,  in  Oct.,  1891.  The  two  illustrations  and 
the  title  (which  was  the  first  woodcut  title  designed  by  Mr. 
Morris)  were  not  engraved  until  June  and  August,  1892, 
when  the  third  volume  was  approaching  completion.  About 
half  a  dozen  impressions  of  the  illustrations  were  pulled  on 
vellum.  A  slip  asking  owners  of  the  book  not  to  have  it 
bound  with  pressure,  nor  to  have  the  edges  cut  instead  of 
merely  trimmed,  was  inserted  in  each  copy. 
8.  THE  RECUYELLOF THE  HISTORYESOFTROYE. 
By  Raoul  Lefevre.  Translated  by  William  Caxton.  Edited 
by  H.  Halliday  Sparling.  2  vols.  Large  4to.  Troy  type, 
with  table  of  chapters  and  glossary  in  Chaucer  type.  In 
black  and  red.  Borders  5a,  5,  and  8.  Woodcut  title.  300 
paper  copies  at  nine  guineas,  five  on  vellum  at  eighty  pounds. 
Dated  Oct.  14,  issued  Nov.  24, 1892.  Published  by  Bernard 
Quaritch.    Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  book,  begun  in  February,  1892,  is  the  first  book  printed 
in  Troy  type,  and  the  first  in  which  Chaucer  type  appears. 
It  is  a  reprint  of  the  first  book  printed  in  English.  It  had 
long  been  a  favourite  with  William  Morris,  who  designed 
a  great  quantity  of  initials  and  ornaments  for  it,  and  wrote 
the  following  note  for  Mr.  Quaritch's  catalogue:  'As  to  the 
matter  of  the  book,  it  makes  a  thoroughly  amusing  story  f 
18 


instinct  with  mediaeval  thought  and  manners.  For  though         Note  on 
written  at  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  dealing  with  clas-         founding  the 
sical  mythology,  it  has  in  it  no  token  of  the  coming  Ren-         Kelmscott 
aissance,  but  is  merely  mediaeval.   It  is  the  last  issue  of  that         Press 
story  of  Troy  which  through  the  whole  of  the  Middle  Ages 
had  such  a  hold  on  men's  imaginations;  the  story  built  up 
from  a  rumour  of  the  Cyclic  Poets,  of  the  heroic  City  of 
Troy,  defended  by  Priam  and  his  gallant  sons,  led  by  Hec- 
tor the  Preux  Chevalier,  and  beset  by  the  violent  and  brutal 
Greeks,  who  were  looked  on  as  the  necessary  machinery 
for  bringing  about  the  undeniable  tragedy  of  the  fall  of  the 
city.    Surely  this  is  well  worth  reading,  if  only  as  a  piece 
of  undiluted  mediaevalism.'  2000  copies  of  a  4to  announce- 
ment, with  specimen  pages,  were  printed  at  the  Kelmscott 
Press  in  December,  1892,  for  distribution  by  the  publisher. 

9.  BIBLIA  INNOCENTIUM:  BEING  THE  STORY  OF 
GODS  CHOSEN  PEOPLE  BEFORE  THE  COMING 
OF  OUR  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST  UPON  EARTH,  WRIT- 
TEN ANEW  FOR  CHILDREN  BY  J.  W.  MACKAIL, 
SOMETIME  FELLOW  OF  BALLIOL  COLLEGE,  OX- 
FORD. 8vo.  Border  2.  200  on  paper  at  a  guinea,  none  on 
vellum.  Dated  Oct.  22,  issued  Dec.  9, 1892.  Sold  by  Reeves 
&  Turner.    Bound  in  stiff  vellum. 

This  was  the  last  book  issued  in  stiff  vellum  except  Hand 
and  Soul,  and  the  last  with  untrimmed  edges.  It  was  the 
first  book  printed  in  8vo. 

10.  THE  HISTORY  OF  REYNARD  THE  FOXE  BY 
WILLIAM  CAXTON.  Reprinted  from  his  edition  of  1481. 
Edited  by  H.  Halliday  Sparling.  Large  4to.  Troy  type, 
with  glossary  in  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders 
5a  and  7.  Woodcut  title.  300  on  paper  at  three  guineas,  10 
on  vellum  at  fifteen  guineas.  Dated  Dec.  15, 1892,  issued 
Jan.  25,  1893.  Published  by  Bernard  Quaritch.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

About  this  book,  which  was  first  announced  as  in  the  press 
in  the  list  dated  July,  1892,  William  Morris  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing note  for  Mr.  Quaritch's  catalogue:  'This  translation 
of  Caxton's  is  one  of  the  very  best  of  his  works  as  to  style; 

19 


Note  on  and  being  translated  from  a  kindred  tongue  is  delightful  as 

founding  the         mere  language.  In  its  rude  joviality,  and  simple  and  direct 
Kelmscott  delineation  of  character,  it  is  a  thoroughly  good  represent- 

Press  ative  of  the  famous  ancient  Beast  Epic.'  The  edges  of  this 

book,  and  of  all  subsequent  books,  were  trimmed  in  accord- 
ance with  the  invariable  practice  of  the  early  printers.  Mr. 
Morris  much  preferred  the  trimmed  edges. 

11.  THE  POEMS  OF  WILLIAM  SHAKESPEARE, 
PRINTED  AFTER  THE  ORIGINAL  COPIES  OF  VE- 
NUS AND  ADONIS,  1593.  THE  RAPE  OF  LUCRECE, 
1594.  SONNETS,  1609.  THE  LOVER'S  COMPLAINT. 
Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis.  8vo.  Golden  type.  In  black  and 
red.  Borders  1  and  2.  500  paper  copies  at  25  shillings, 
10  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas.  Dated  Jan.  17,  issued  Feb. 
13, 1893.  Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
A  trial  page  of  this  book  was  set  up  on  Nov.  1 , 1 892.  Though 
the  number  was  large,  this  has  become  one  of  the  rarest 
books  issued  from  the  Press. 

12.  NEWS  FROM  NOWHERE:  OR,  AN  EPOCH  OF 
REST,  BEING  SOME  CHAPTERS  FROM  A  UTOPIAN 
ROMANCE,  BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  8vo.  Golden  type. 
In  black  and  red.  Borders  9a  and  4,  and  a  woodcut  en- 
graved by  W.  H.  Hooper  from  a  design  by  C.  M.  Gere. 
300  on  paper  at  two  guineas,  10  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas. 
Dated  Nov.  22,  1892,  issued  March  24,  1893.  Sold  by 
Reeves  &  Turner.    Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

The  text  of  this  book  was  printed  before  Shakespeare's 
Poems  and  Sonnets,  but  it  was  kept  back  for  the  frontis- 
piece, which  is  a  picture  of  the  old  manor-house  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Kelmscott  by  the  upper  Thames,  from  which  the 
Press  took  its  name.  It  was  set  up  from  a  copy  of  one  of 
Reeves  &  Turner's  editions,  and  in  reading  it  for  the  press 
the  author  made  a  few  slight  corrections.  It  was  the  last 
except  the  Savonarola  (No.  31)  in  which  he  used  the  old 
paragraph  mark  Cj  which  was  discarded  in  favour  of  the 
leaves,  which  had  already  been  used  in  the  two  large  4to 
books  printed  in  the  Troy  type. 

13.  THE  ORDER  OF  CHIVALRY.    Translated  from  the 

20 


French  by  William  Caxton  and  reprinted  from  his  edition      Note  on 
of  1484.  Edited  by  F.  S.Ellis.  And  L'ORDENE  DE  CHEV-      founding  the 
ALERIE,  WITH  TRANSLATION  BY  WILLIAM  MOR-      Kelmscott 
RIS.   Small  4to.  Chaucer  type,  in  black  and  red.   Borders      Press 
9a  and  4,  and  a  woodcut  designed  by  Sir  Edward  Burne- 
Jones.    225  on  paper  at  thirty  shillings,  10  on  vellum  at  ten 
guineas.    The  Order  of  Chivalry  dated  Nov.  10, 1892,  L'Or- 
dene  de  Chevalerie  dated  February  24,  1893,  issued  April 
12, 1893.  Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
This  was  the  last  book  printed  in  small  4to.    The  last  sec- 
tion is  in  8vo.    It  was  the  first  book  printed  in  Chaucer 
type.  The  reprint  from  Caxton  was  finished  while  News 
from  Nowhere  was  in  the  press,  and  before  Shakespeare's 
Poems  and  Sonnets  was  begun.    The  French  poem  and  its 
translation  were  added  as  an  after-thought,  and  have  a  sep- 
arate colophon.    Some  of  the  three-line  initials,  which  were 
designed  for  The  Well  at  the  World's  End,  are  used  in  the 
French  poem,  and  this  is  their  first  appearance.    The  trans- 
lation was  begun  on  Dec.  3, 1892,  and  the  border  round  the 
frontispiece  was  designed  on  Feb.  13,  1893. 

14.  THE  LIFE  OF  THOMAS  WOLSEY,  CARDINAL 
ARCHBISHOP  OF  YORK,  WRITTEN  BY  GEORGE 
CAVENDISH.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis  from  the  author's  au- 
tograph MS.  8vo.  Golden  type.  Border  1.  250  on  paper 
at  two  guineas,  6  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas.  Dated  March 
30,  issued  May  3, 1893.  Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

15.  THE  HISTORY  OF  GODEFREY  OF  BOLOYNE 
AND  OF  THE  CONQUEST  OF  IHERUSALEM.  Re- 
printed from  Caxton's  edition  of  1481.  Edited  by  H.  Hal- 
liday  Sparling.  Large  4to.  Troy  type,  with  list  of  chapter 
headings  and  glossary  in  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red. 
Borders  5a  and  5,  and  woodcut  title.  300  on  paper  at  six 
guineas,  6  on  vellum  at  20  guineas.  Dated  April  27,  issued 
May  24, 1893.  Published  by  William  Morris  at  the  Kelm- 
scott Press.    Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  was  the  fifth  and  last  of  the  Caxton  reprints,  with 
many  new  ornaments  and  initials,  and  a  new  printer's 

21 


Note  on  mark.    It  was  first  announced  as  in  the  press  in  the  list 

founding  the  dated  Dec,  1892.  It  was  the  first  book  published  and  sold 
Kelmscott  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.    An  announcement  and  order  form, 

Press  with  two  different  specimen  pages,  was  printed  at  the  Press, 

besides  a  special  invoice.    A  few  copies  were  bound  in  half 

holland,  not  for  sale. 

16.  UTOPIA,  WRITTEN  BY  SIR  THOMAS  MORE.  A 
reprint  of  the  2nd  edition  of  Ralph  Robinson's  translation, 
with  a  foreword  by  William  Morris.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis. 
8vo.  Chaucer  type,  with  the  reprinted  title  in  Troy  type. 
In  black  and  red.  Borders  4  and  2.  300  on  paper  at  thirty 
shillings,  8  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas.  Dated  August  4,  issued 
September  8, 1893.  Sold  by  Reeves  &  Turner.  Bound  in 
limp  vellum. 

This  book  was  first  announced  as  in  the  press  in  the  list 
dated  May  20, 1893. 

17.  MAUD,  A  MONODRAMA.  BY  ALFRED  LORD 
TENNYSON.  8vo.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Bor- 
ders 10a  and  10,  and  woodcut  title.  500  on  paper  at  two 
guineas,  5  on  vellum  not  for  sale.  Dated  Aug.  11,  issued 
Sept.  30,  1893.  Published  by  Macmillan  &  Co.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

The  borders  were  specially  designed  for  this  book.  They 
were  both  used  again  in  the  Keats,  and  one  of  them  appears 
in  The  Sundering  Flood.  It  is  the  first  of  the  8vo  books 
with  a  woodcut  title. 

18.  GOTHIC  ARCHITECTURE:  A  LECTURE  FOR 
THE  ARTS  AND  CRAFTS  EXHIBITION  SOCIETY, 
BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  16mo.  Golden  type.  In  black 
and  red.  1500  on  paper  at  two  shillings  and  sixpence,  45  on 
vellum  at  ten  and  fifteen  shillings.  Bound  in  half  holland. 
This  lecture  was  set  up  at  Hammersmith  and  printed  at  the 
New  Gallery  during  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Exhibition  in  Octo- 
ber and  November,  1893.  The  first  copies  were  ready  on 
October  21,  and  the  book  was  twice  reprinted  before  the 
Exhibition  closed.  It  was  the  first  book  printed  in  16mo. 
The  four-line  initials  used  in  it  appear  here  for  the  first 
time.   The  vellum  copies  were  sold  during  the  Exhibition 

22 


at  ten  shillings,  and  the  price  was  subsequently  raised  to         Note  on 
fifteen  shillings.  founding  the 

19.  SIDONIA  THE  SORCERESS,  BY  WILLIAM  MEIN-         Kelmscott 
HOLD,  TRANSLATED  BY  FRANCESCA  SPERANZA         Press 
LADY  WILDE.  Large  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red. 

Border  8.  3oo  paper  copies  at  four  guineas,  10  on  vellum 
at  twenty  guineas.  Dated  Sept.  1 5,  issued  November  1 , 1 893 . 
Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
Before  the  publication  of  this  book  a  large  4to  announce- 
ment and  order  form  was  issued,  with  a  specimen  page 
and  an  interesting  description  of  the  book  and  its  author, 
written  and  signed  by  William  Morris.  Some  copies  were 
bound  in  half  holland,  not  for  sale. 

20.  BALLADS  AND  NARRATIVE  POEMS  BY  DANTE 
GABRIEL  ROSSETTI.  8vo.  Golden  type.  In  black  and 
red.  Borders  4a  and  4,  and  woodcut  title.  310  on  paper 
at  two  guineas,  6  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas.  Dated  Oct.  14, 
issued  in  November,  1893.  Published  by  Ellis  &  Elvey. 
Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  book  was  announced  as  in  preparation  in  the  list  of 
August  1, 1893. 

21.  THE  TALE  OF  KING  FLORUS  AND  THE  FAIR 
JEH ANE.  Translated  by  William  Morris  from  the  French 
of  the  13th  century.  16mo.  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and 
red.  Borders  11a  and  11,  and  woodcut  title.  350  on  paper 
at  seven  shillings  and  sixpence,  15  on  vellum  at  thirty  shil- 
lings. Dated  Dec.  16,  issued  Dec.  28, 1893.  Published  by 
William  Morris.    Bound  in  half  holland. 

This  story,  like  the  three  other  translations  with  which  it 
is  uniform,  was  taken  from  a  little  volume  called  Nouvelles 
Francoises  en  prose  du  XHIe  siecle.  Paris,  Jannet,  1856. 
They  were  first  announced  as  in  preparation  under  the  head- 
ing '  French  Tales '  in  the  list  dated  May  20,  1893.  Eighty- 
five  copies  of  King  Florus  were  bought  by  J.  and  M.  L. 
Tregaskis,  who  had  them  bound  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
These  are  now  in  the  Rylands  Library  at  Manchester. 
22.THESTORYOFTHEGLITTERINGPLAINWHICH 
HAS  BEEN  ALSO  CALLED  THE  LAND  OF  LIVING 

23 


Note  on  MEN  OR  THE  ACRE  OF  THE  UNDYING.  WRITTEN 

founding  the         BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  Large  4to.  Troy  type,  with  list 

Kelmscott  of  chapters  in  Chaucer  type.    In  black  and  red.    Borders 

Press  12a  and  12,  23  designs  by  Walter  Crane,  engraved  by 

A.  Leverett,  and  a  woodcut  title.    250  on  paper  at  five 

guineas,  7  on  vellum  at  twenty  pounds.    Dated  Jan.  13, 

issued   Feb.   17,  1894.    Published   by   William   Morris. 

Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

Neither  the  borders  in  this  book  nor  six  out  of  the  seven 
frames  round  the  illustrations  appear  in  any  other  book. 
The  seventh  is  used  round  the  second  picture  in  Love  is 
Enough.    A  few  copies  were  bound  in  half  holland. 

23.  OF  THE  FRIENDSHIP  OF  AMIS  AND  AMILE. 
Done  out  of  the  ancient  French  by  William  Morris.  16mo. 
Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  11a  and  11,  and 
woodcut  title.  500  on  paper  at  seven  shillings  and  sixpence, 
15  on  vellum  at  thirty  shillings.  Dated  March  13,  issued 
April  4,  1894.  Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound  in 
half  holland. 

A  poem  entitled  Amys  and  Amillion,  founded  on  this  story, 
was  originally  to  have  appeared  in  the  second  volume  of 
the  Earthly  Paradise,  but,  like  some  other  poems  announced 
at  the  same  time,  it  was  not  included  in  the  book. 
20a.  SONNETS  AND  LYRICAL  POEMS  BY  DANTE 
GABRIEL  ROSSETTI.  8vo.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red. 
Borders  laandl,  and  woodcut  title.  3 10  on  paper  at  two  gui- 
neas, 6  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas.  Dated  Feb.  20,  issued  April 
21, 1894.  Published  by  Ellis  &  Elvey.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
This  book  is  uniform  with  No.  20,  to  which  it  forms  a  sequel. 
Both  volumes  were  read  for  the  press  by  Mr.  W.  M.  Rossetti. 

24.  THE  POEMS  OF  JOHN  KEATS.  Edited  by  F.  S. 
Ellis.  8vo.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  10a 
and  10,  and  woodcut  title.  300  on  paper  at  thirty  shillings, 
7  on  vellum  at  nine  guineas.  Dated  March  7,  issued  May  8, 
1894.  Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
This  is  now  (Jan.,  1898)  the  most  sought  after  of  all  the 
smaller  Kelmscott  Press  books.  It  was  announced  as  in 
preparation  in  the  lists  of  May  27  and  August  1, 1893,  and 

24 


as  in  the  press  in  that  of  March  31, 1894,  when  the  wood-         Note  on 
cut  title  still  remained  to  be  printed.  founding  the 

25.  ATALANTA  IN  CALYDON:  A  TRAGEDY.    BY        Kelmscott 
ALGERNON  CHARLES  SWINBURNE.  Large  4to.  Troy        Press 
type,  with  argument  and  dramatis  personam  in  Chaucer 

type;  the  dedication  and  quotation  from  Euripides  in  Greek 
type  designed  by  Selwyn  Image.  In  black  and  red.  Bor- 
ders 5a  and  5,  and  woodcut  title.  250  on  paper  at  two 
guineas,  8  on  vellum  at  twelve  guineas.  Dated  May  4, 
issued  July  24, 1 894.  Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

In  the  vellum  copies  of  this  book  the  colophon  is  not  on  the 
82nd  page  as  in  the  paper  copies,  but  on  the  following  page. 

26.  THE  TALE  OF  THE  EMPEROR  COUSTANS  AND 
OF  OVER  SEA.  Done  out  of  ancient  French  by  William 
Morris.  16mo.  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders 
11a  and  11,  both  twice,  and  two  woodcut  titles.  525  on 
paper  at  seven  shillings  and  sixpence,  20  on  vellum  at  two 
guineas.  Dated  August  30,  issued  Sept.  26,  1894.  Pub- 
lished by  William  Morris.    Bound  in  half  holland. 

The  first  of  these  stories,  which  was  the  source  of  The  Man 
born  to  be  King,  in  The  Earthly  Paradise,  was  announced 
as  in  preparation  in  the  list  of  March  31, 1894. 

27.  THE  WOODBEYOND  THE  WORLD.  BYWILLIAM 
MORRIS.  8vo.  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders 
13a  and  13,  and  a  frontispiece  designed  by  Sir  E.  Burne- 
Jones,  and  engraved  on  wood  by  W.  Spielmeyer.  350  on 
paper  at  two  guineas,  8  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas.  Dated 
May  30,  issued  Oct.  16, 1894.  Published  by  William  Morris. 
Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

The  borders  in  this  book,  as  well  as  the  ten  half-borders, 
are  here  used  for  the  first  time.  It  was  first  announced  as 
in  the  press  in  the  list  of  March  31,  1894.  Another  edition 
was  published  by  Lawrence  &  Bullen  in  1895. 

28.  THE  BOOK  OF  WISDOM  AND  LIES.  A  book  of 
traditional  stories  from  Georgia  in  Asia.  Translated  by 
Oliver  Wardrop  from  the  original  of  Sulkhan-Saba  Orbe- 
liani.  8vo.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  4a  and 

25 


Note  on  4,  and  woodcut  title.    250  on  paper  at  two  guineas,  none 

founding  the         on  vellum.    Finished  Sept.  29,  issued  Oct.  29,  1894.    Pub- 
Kelmscott  lished  by  Bernard  Quaritch.    Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

Press  The  arms  of  Georgia,  consisting  of  the  Holy  Coat,  appear 

in  the  woodcut  title  of  this  book. 

29.  THE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF  PERCY  BYSSHE 
SHELLEY.  VOLUME  I.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis.  8vo. 
Golden  type.  Borders  la  and  1,  and  woodcut  title.  250 
on  paper  at  twenty-five  shillings,  6  on  vellum  at  eight 
guineas.  Not  dated,  issued  Nov.  29, 1894.  Published  by 
William  Morris.  Bound  in  limp  vellum  without  ties. 
Red  ink  is  not  used  in  this  volume,  though  it  is  used  in  the 
second  volume,  and  more  sparingly  in  the  third.  Some  of 
the  half -borders  designed  for  The  Wood  beyond  the  World 
reappear  before  the  longer  poems.  The  Shelley  was  first 
announced  as  in  the  press  in  the  list  of  March  31, 1894. 

30.  PSALMI  PENITENTIALES.  An  English  rhymed 
version  of  the  Seven  Penitential  Psalms.  Edited  by  F.  S. 
Ellis.  8vo.  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  300  on  paper 
at  seven  shillings  and  sixpence,  12  on  vellum  at  three 
guineas.  Dated  Nov.  15,  issued  Dec.  10, 1894.  Published 
by  William  Morris.    Bound  in  half  holland. 

These  verses  were  taken  from  a  manuscript  Book  of  Hours 
written  at  Gloucester  in  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, but  the  Rev.  Professor  Skeat  has  pointed  out  that  the 
scribe  must  have  copied  them  from  an  older  manuscript,  as 
they  are  in  the  Kentish  dialect  of  about  a  century  earlier. 
Thehalf-borderonp.34appearsforthefirsttimeinthisbook. 

31.  EPISTOLA  DE  CONTEMPTU  MUNDI  DI  FRATE 
HIERONYMO  DA  FERRARA  DELLORDINE  DE 
FRATI  PREDICATORI  LA  QUALE  MANDA  AD  ELE- 
NA BUONACCORSI  SUA  MADRE,  PER  CONSOLARLA 
DELLA  MORTE  DEL  FRATELLO,  SUO  ZIO.  Edited 
by  Charles  Fairfax  Murray  from  the  original  autograph 
letter.  8vo.  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Border  1. 
Woodcut  on  title  designed  by  C.  F.  Murray  and  engraved 
by  H.  W.  Hooper.  150  on  paper,  and  6  on  vellum.  Dated 
Nov.  30,  ready  Dec.  12,  1894.    Bound  in  half  holland. 

26 


This  little  book  was  printed  for  Mr.  C.  Fairfax  Murray,         Note  on 
the  owner  of  the  manuscript,  and  was  not  for  sale  in  the        founding  the 
ordinary  way.    The  colophon  is  in  Italian,  and  the  print-         Kelmscott 
er's  mark  is  in  red.  Press 

32.  THE  TALE  OF  BEOWULF.  Done  out  of  the  Old 
English  tongue  by  William  Morris  and  A.  J.  Wyatt.  Large 
4to.  Troy  type,  with  argument,  side-notes,  list  of  persons 
and  places,  and  glossary  in  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and 
red.  Borders  14a  and  14,  and  woodcut  title.  300  on  paper 
at  two  guineas,  8  on  vellum  at  ten  pounds.  Dated  Jan.  10, 
issued  Feb.  2, 1895.  Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

The  borders  in  this  book  were  only  used  once  again,  in 
the  Jason.  A  Note  to  the  Reader  printed  on  a  slip  in  the 
Golden  type  was  inserted  in  each  copy.  Beowulf  was  first 
announced  as  in  preparation  in  the  list  of  May  20, 1893. 
The  verse  translation  was  begun  by  Mr.  Morris,  with  the 
aid  of  Mr.  Wyatt's  careful  paraphrase  of  the  text,  on  Feb. 
21, 1893,  and  finished  on  April  10, 1894,  but  the  argument 
was  not  written  by  Mr.  Morris  until  Dec.  10, 1894. 

33.  SYR  PERECYVELLE  OF  GALES.  Overseen  by  F.S. 
Ellis,  after  the  edition  edited  by  J.  O.  Halliwell  from  the 
Thornton  MS.  in  the  Library  of  Lincoln  Cathedral.  8vo. 
Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  13a  and  13,  and 
a  woodcut  designed  by  Sir  E.  Burne-Jones.  350  on  paper 
at  fifteen  shillings,  8  on  vellum  at  four  guineas.  Dated  Feb. 
16,  issued  May  2,  1895.  Published  by  William  Morris. 
Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  is  the  first  of  the  series  to  which  Sire  Degrevaunt  and 
Syr  Isumbrace  belong.  They  were  all  reprinted  from  the 
Camden  Society's  volume  of  1844,  which  was  a  favourite 
with  Mr.  Morris  from  his  Oxford  days.  Syr  Perecyvelle 
was  first  announced  in  the  list  of  Dec.  1, 1894.  The  shoul- 
der-notes were  added  by  Mr.  Morris. 

34.  THE  LIFE  AND  DEATH  OF  JASON,  A  POEM. 
BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  Large  4to.  Troy  type,  with  a 
few  words  in  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders 
14a  and  14,  and  two  woodcuts  designed  by  Sir  E.  Burne- 

27 


Note  on  Jones  and  engraved  on  wood  by  W.  Spielmeyer.    200  on 

founding  the         paper  at  five  guineas,  6  on  vellum  at  twenty  guineas.  Dated 
Kelmscott  May  25,  issued  July  5, 1895.  Published  by  William  Morris. 

Press  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  book,  announced  as  in  the  press  in  the  list  of  April  21, 
1894,  proceeded  slowly,  as  several  other  books,  notably 
the  Chaucer,  were  being  printed  at  the  same  time.  The 
text,  which  had  been  corrected  for  the  second  edition  of 
1868,  and  for  the  edition  of  1882,  was  again  revised  by  the 
author.  The  line-fillings  on  the  last  page  were  cut  on  metal 
for  this  book,  and  cast  like  type. 

29a.  THE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF  PERCY  BYSSHE 
SHELLEY.  VOLUME  II.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis.  8vo. 
Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  250  on  paper  at  twenty- 
five  shillings,  6  on  vellum  at  eight  guineas.  Not  dated,  issued 
March  25, 1895.  Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound  in 
limp  vellum  without  ties. 

35.  CHILD  CHRISTOPHER  AND  GOLDILIND  THE 
FAIR.  BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  2  vols.  16mo.  Chaucer 
type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  15a  and  15,  and  wood- 
cut title.  600  on  paper  at  fifteen  shillings,  12  on  vellum  at 
four  guineas.  Dated  July  25,  issued  Sept.  25,  1895.  Pub- 
lished by  William  Morris.  Bound  in  half  holland,  with 
labels  printed  in  the  Golden  type. 

The  borders  designed  for  this  book  were  only  used  once 
again,  in  Hand  and  Soul.  The  plot  of  the  story  was  sug- 
gested by  that  of  Havelok  the  Dane,  printed  by  the  Early 
English  Text  Society. 

29b.  THE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF  PERCY  BYSSHE 
SHELLEY.  VOLUME  III.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis.  8vo. 
Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  250  on  paper  at  twenty- 
five  shillings,  6  on  vellum  at  eight  guineas.  Dated  August 
21,  issued  October  28, 1895.  Published  by  William  Morris. 
Bound  in  limp  vellum  without  ties. 

36.  HAND  AND  SOUL.  BY  DANTE  GABRIEL  ROS- 
SETTI.  Reprinted  from  The  Germ  for  Messrs.  Way  & 
Williams,  of  Chicago.  16mo.  Golden  type.  In  black  and 
red.    Borders  15a  and  15,  and  woodcut  title.    300  paper 

28 


copies  and  1 1  vellum  copies  for  America.   225  paper  copies      Note  on 
for  sale  in  England  at  ten  shillings,  and  10  on  vellum  at      founding  the 
thirty  shillings.  DatedOct.24,  issued  Dec.  12, 1895.  Bound      Kelmscott 
in  stiff  vellum  without  ties.  Press 

This  was  the  only  16mo  book  bound  in  vellum.  The  Eng- 
lish and  American  copies  have  a  slightly  different  colo- 
phon.   The  shoulder-notes  were  added  by  Mr.  Morris. 

37.  POEMS  CHOSEN  OUT  OF  THE  WORKS  OF  ROB- 
ERT HERRICK.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis,  8vo.  Golden 
type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  4a  and  4,  and  woodcut 
title.  250  on  paper  at  thirty  shillings,  8  on  vellum  at  eight 
guineas.  Dated  Nov.  21,  1895,  issued  Feb.  6, 1896.  Pub- 
lished by  William  Morris.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  book  was  first  announced  as  in  preparation  in  the  list 
of  Dec.  1, 1894,  and  as  in  the  press  in  that  of  July  1, 1895. 

38.  POEMS  CHOSEN  OUT  OF  THE  WORKS  OF  SAM- 
UEL TAYLOR  COLERIDGE.  Edited  by  F.S.Ellis.  8vo. 
Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  13a  and  13.  300 
on  paper  at  a  guinea,  8  on  vellum  at  five  guineas.  Dated 
Feb.  5,  issued  April  12, 1896.  Published  by  William  Morris. 
Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  book  contains  thirteen  poems.  It  was  first  announced 
as  in  preparation  in  the  list  of  Dec.  1, 1894,  and  as  in  the 
press  in  that  of  Nov.  26,  1895.  It  is  the  last  of  the  series 
to  which  Tennyson's  Maud,  and  the  poems  of  Rossetti, 
Keats,  Shelley,  and  Herrick  belong. 

39.  THE  WELL  AT  THE  WORLD'S  END.  BY  WIL- 
LIAM MORRIS.  Large  4to.  Double  columns.  Chaucer 
type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  16a,  16, 17a,  17, 18a,  18, 
19a  and  19,  and  4  woodcuts  designed  by  Sir  E.  Burne- 
Jones.  350  on  paper  at  five  guineas,  8  on  vellum  at  twenty 
guineas.  Dated  March  2,  issued  June  4,  1896.  Sold  by 
William  Morris.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  book,  delayed  for  various  reasons,  was  longer  on  hand 
than  any  other.  It  appears  in  no  less  than  twelve  lists,  from 
that  of  Dec,  1892,  to  that  of  Nov.  26, 1895,  as  'in  the  press.' 
Trial  pages,  including  one  in  a  single  column,  were  ready 
as  early  as  September,  1892,  and  the  printing  began  on 

29 


Note  on  December  16  of  that  year.    The  edition  of  The  Well  at  the 

founding  the         World's  End  published  by  Longmans  was  then  being 
Kelmscott  printed  from  the  author's  manuscript  at  the  Chiswick  Press, 

Press  and  the  Kelmscott  Press  edition  was  set  up  from  the  sheets 

of  that  edition,  which,  though  not  issued  until  October,  1896, 
was  finished  in  1894.  The  eight  borders  and  the  six  dif- 
ferent ornaments  between  the  columns,  appear  here  for  the 
first  time,  but  are  used  again  in  The  Water  of  the  Wondrous 
Isles,  with  the  exception  of  two  borders. 
40.  THE  WORKS  OF  GEOFFREY  CHAUCER.  Edited 
by  F.  S.  Ellis.  Folio.  Chaucer  type,  with  headings  to  the 
longer  poems  in  Troy  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders 
20a  to  26,  woodcut  title,  and  87  woodcut  illustrations  de- 
signed by  Sir  E.  Burne-Jones.  425  on  paper  at  twenty 
pounds,  13  on  vellum  at  120  guineas.  Dated  May  8,  issued 
June  26,  1893.  Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound  in 
half  holland. 

The  history  of  this  book,  which  is  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant achievement  of  the  Kelmscott  Press,  is  as  follows.  As 
far  back  as  June  11, 1891,  Mr.  Morris  spoke  of  printing  a 
Chaucer  with  a  black-letter  fount  which  he  hoped  to  de- 
sign. Four  months  later,  when  most  of  the  Troy  type  was 
designed  and  cut,  he  expressed  his  intention  to  use  it  first 
on  John  Ball,  and  then  on  a  Chaucer  and  perhaps  a  Gesta 
Romanorum.  By  January  1, 1892,  the  Troy  type  was  de- 
livered, and  early  in  that  month  two  trial  pages,  one  from 
The  Cook's  Tale  and  one  from  Sir  Thopas,  the  latter  in 
double  columns,  were  got  out.  It  then  became  evident 
that  the  type  was  too  large  for  a  Chaucer,  and  Mr.  Morris 
decided  to  have  it  re-cut  in  the  size  known  as  pica.  By  the 
end  of  June  he  was  thus  in  possession  of  the  type  which 
in  the  list  issued  in  December,  1892,  he  named  the  Chaucer 
type.  In  July,  1 892,  another  trial  page,  a  passage  from  The 
Knight's  Tale  in  double  columns  of  58  lines,  was  got  out, 
and  found  to  be  satisfactory.  The  idea  of  the  Chaucer  as 
it  now  exists,  with  illustrations  by  Sir  Edward  Burne- 
Jones,  then  took  definite  shape. 

In  a  proof  of  the  first  list,  dated  April,  1892,  there  is  an 
30 


announcement  of  the  book  as  in  preparation,  in  black-letter,  Note  on 
large  quarto,  but  this  was  struck  out,  and  does  not  appear  founding  the 
in  the  list  as  printed  in  May,  nor  yet  in  the  July  list.  In  Kelmscott 
that  for  Dec,  1892,  it  is  announced  for  the  first  time  as  to  Press 
be  in  Chaucer  type  'with  about  sixty  designs  by  E.  Burne- 
Jones.'  The  next  list,  dated  March  9,  1893,  states  that  it 
will  be  a  folio  and  that  it  is  in  the  press,  by  which  was 
meant  that  a  few  pages  were  in  type.  In  the  list  dated 
Aug.  1, 1893,  the  probable  price  is  given  as  twenty  pounds. 
The  next  four  lists  contain  no  fresh  information,  but  on 
Aug.  17, 1894,  nine  days  after  the  first  sheet  was  printed, 
a  notice  was  sent  to  the  trade  that  there  would  be  325 
copies  at  twenty  pounds  and  about  sixty  woodcuts  designed 
by  Sir  Edward  Burne-Jones.  Three  months  later  it  was 
decided  to  increase  the  number  of  illustrations  to  upwards 
of  seventy,  and  to  print  another  100  copies  of  the  book.  A 
circular  letter  was  sent  to  subscribers  on  Nov.  14,  stating 
this  and  giving  them  an  opportunity  of  cancelling  their  or- 
ders. Orders  were  not  withdrawn,  the  extra  copies  were 
immediately  taken  up,  and  the  list  for  Dec.  1, 1894,  which 
is  the  first  containing  full  particulars,  announces  that  all 
paper  copies  are  sold. 

Mr.  Morris  began  designing  his  first  folio  border  on  Feb. 
1,  1893,  but  was  dissatisfied  with  the  design  and  did  not 
finish  it.  Three  days  later  he  began  the  vine  border  for 
the  first  page,  and  finished  it  in  about  a  week,  together 
with  the  initial  word  'Whan,'  the  two  lines  of  heading,  and 
the  frame  for  the  first  picture,  and  Mr.  Hooper  engraved 
the  whole  of  these  on  one  block.  The  first  picture  was  en- 
graved at  about  the  same  time.  A  specimen  of  the  first 
page  (differing  slightly  from  the  same  page  as  it  appears 
in  the  book)  was  shown  at  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Exhibition 
in  October  and  November,  1893,  and  was  issued  to  a  few 
leading  booksellers,  but  it  was  not  until  August  8,  1894, 
that  the  first  sheet  was  printed  at  14,  Upper  Mall.  On  Jan. 
8, 1895,  another  press  was  started  at  21,  Upper  Mall,  and 
from  that  time  two  presses  were  almost  exclusively  at  work 
on  the  Chaucer.    By  Sept.  10  the  last  page  of  The  Romaunt 

31 


Note  on  of  the  Rose  was  printed.    In  the  middle  of  Feb.,  1896,  Mr. 

founding  the         Morris  began  designing  the  title.   It  was  finished  on  the  27th 

Kelmscott  of  the  same  month  and  engraved  by  Mr.  Hooper  in  March. 

Press  On  May  8,  a  year  and  nine  months  after  the  printing  of  the 

first  sheet,  the  book  was  completed.  On  June  2  the  first  two 
copies  were  delivered  to  Sir  Edward  Burne- Jones  and  Mr. 
Morris.  Mr.  Morris's  copy  is  now  at  Exeter  College,  Oxford, 
with  other  books  printed  at  the  Kelmscott  Press. 
Besides  the  eighty-seven  illustrations  designed  by  Sir 
Edward  Burne-Jones,  and  engraved  by  W.  H.  Hooper, 
the  Chaucer  contains  a  woodcut  title,  fourteen  large  bor- 
ders, eighteen  different  frames  round  the  illustrations,  and 
twenty-six  large  initial  words  designed  for  the  book  by 
William  Morris.  Many  of  these  were  engraved  by  C.  E. 
Keates,  and  others  by  W.  H.  Hooper  and  W.  Spielmeyer. 
In  Feb.,  1896,  a  notice  was  issued  respecting  special  bind- 
ings, of  which  Mr.  Morris  intended  to  design  four.  Two 
of  these  were  to  have  been  executed  under  Mr.  Cobden- 
Sanderson's  direction  at  the  Doves  Bindery,  and  two  by 
Messrs.  J.  &  J.  Leighton.  But  the  only  design  that  he  was 
able  to  complete  was  for  a  full  white  pigskin  binding,  which 
has  now  been  carried  out  at  the  Doves  Bindery  on  forty- 
eight  copies,  including  two  on  vellum. 
41.  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLI  AM  MOR- 
RIS. VOLUME  I.  PROLOGUE:  THE  WANDERERS. 
MARCH:  ATALANTA'S  RACE.  THE  MAN  BORN  TO 
BE  KING.  Medium  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red. 
Borders  27a,  27, 28a,  and  28,  and  woodcut  title.  225  on  pa- 
per at  thirty  shillings,  6  on  vellum  at  seven  guineas.  Dated 
May  7,  issued  July  24, 1896.  Published  by  William  Morris. 
Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  was  the  first  book  printed  on  the  paper  with  the  ap- 
ple water-mark.  The  seven  other  volumes  followed  it  at 
intervals  of  a  few  months.  None  of  the  ten  borders  used 
in  the  Earthly  Paradise  appear  in  any  other  book.  The 
four  different  half -borders  round  the  poems  to  the  months 
are  also  not  used  elsewhere.  The  first  border  was  de- 
signed in  June,  1895. 
32 


42.  LAUDES  BEATAE  MARIAE  VIRGINIS.  Latin  po-         Note  on 
ems  taken  from  a  Psalter  written  in  England  about  A.  D.         founding  the 
1220.   Edited  by  S.  C.  Cockerell.    Large  4to.   Troy  type.         Kelmscott 
In  black,  red,  and  blue.   250  on  paper  at  ten  shillings,  10         Press 

on  vellum  at  two  guineas.  Dated  July  7,  issued  August  7, 
1896.  Published  by  William  Morris.  Bound  in  half  holland. 
This  was  the  first  book  printed  at  the  Kelmscott  Press  in 
three  colours.  The  manuscript  from  which  the  poems  were 
taken  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  English  books 
in  Mr.  Morris's  possession,  both  as  regards  writing  and  or- 
nament. No  author's  name  is  given  to  the  poems,  but  after 
this  book  was  issued  the  Rev.  E.  S.  Dewick  pointed  out  that 
they  had  already  been  printed  at  Tegernsee  in  1579,  in  a 
16mo  volume  in  which  they  are  ascribed  to  Stephen  Lang- 
ton.  A  note  to  this  effect  was  printed  in  the  Chaucer  type 
in  Dec.  28, 1896,  and  distributed  to  the  subscribers. 
41a.  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR- 
RIS. VOLUME  II.  APRIL:  THE  DOOM  OF  KING  ACRI- 
SIUS.  THE  PROUD  KING.  Medium  4to.  Golden  type. 
In  black  and  red.  Borders  29a,  29, 28a,  and  28.  225  on  pa- 
per at  thirty  shillings,  6  on  vellum  at  seven  guineas.  Dated 
June  24,  issued  Sept.  17, 1896.  Published  by  William  Mor- 
ris. Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

43.  THEFLOURE  ANDTHE  LEAFE,  AND  THE  BOKE 
OF  CUPIDE,  GOD  OF  LOVE,  OR  THE  CUCKOW  AND 
THE  NIGHTINGALE.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis.  Medium 
4to.  Troy  type,  with  note  and  colophon  in  Chaucer  type. 
In  black  and  red.  300  on  paper  at  ten  shillings,  10  on  vel- 
lum at  two  guineas.  Dated  Aug.  21,  issued  Nov.  2, 1896. 
Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound  in  half  holland. 
Two  of  the  initial  words  from  the  Chaucer  are  used  in  this 
book,  one  at  the  beginning  of  each  poem.  These  poems 
were  formerly  attributed  to  Chaucer,  but  recent  scholarship 
has  proved  that  The  Floure  and  the  Leafe  is  much  later 
than  Chaucer,  and  that  The  Cuckow  and  the  Nightingale 
was  written  by  Sir  Thomas  Clanvowe  about  A.  D.  1405-10. 

44.  THE  SHEPHEARDES  CALENDER:  CONTEYN- 
ING  TWELVE  ^GLOGUES,  PROPORTIONABLE  TO 

33 


Note  on  THE  TWELVE  MONETHES.    By  Edmund  Spenser. 

founding  the         Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis.  Medium  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black 

Kelmscott  and  red.  With  twelve  full-page  illustrations  by  A.  J.  Gaskin. 

Press  225  on  paper  at  a  guinea,  6  on  vellum  at  three  guineas. 

Dated  Oct.  14,  issued  Nov.  26, 1896.  Published  at  the  Kelm- 
scott Press.  Bound  in  half  holland. 

The  illustrations  in  this  book  were  printed  from  process 
blocks  by  Walker  &  Boutall.  By  an  oversight  the  names  of 
author,  editor,  and  artist  were  omitted  from  the  colophon. 
41b.  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR- 
RIS. VOLUME  III.  MAY:  THE  STORY  OFCUPID  AND 
PSYCHE.  THE  WRITING  ON  THE  IMAGE.  JUNE: 
THELOVEOFALCESTIS.THELADYOFTHELAND. 
Medium  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  30a, 
30,  27a,  27,  28a,  28, 29a,  and  29.  225  on  paper  at  thirty  shil- 
lings, 6  on  vellum  at  seven  guineas.  Dated  Aug.  24,  issued 
Dec.  5,  1896.  Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

41c.  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR- 
RIS. VOLUME IV.  JULY:  THE SONOFCRCESUS.  THE 
WATCHING  OF  THE  FALCON.  AUGUST:  PYGMA- 
LION AND  THE  IMAGE.  OGIER  THE  DANE.  Medium 
4to.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  31a,  31,  29a, 
29,  28a,  28,  30a,  and  30.  Dated  Nov.  25,  1896,  issued  Jan. 
22,  1897.  Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound  in 
limp  vellum. 

41d.  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR- 
RIS. VOLUME  V.  SEPTEMBER:  THE  DEATH  OF 
PARIS.  THE  LAND  EAST  OF  THE  SUN  AND  WEST 
OF  THE  MOON.  OCTOBER:  THE  STORY  OF  ACON- 
TIUS  AND  CYDIPPE.  THE  MAN  WHO  NEVER 
LAUGHED  AGAIN.  Medium  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black 
and  red.  Borders  29a,  29,  27a,  27,  28a,  28,  31a,  and  31. 
Finished  Dec.  24, 1896,  issued  Mar.  9, 1897.  Published  at 
the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
41e.  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR- 
RIS. VOLUME  VI.  NOVEMBER:  THE  STORY  OF 
RHODOPE.  THE  LOVERS  OF  GUDRUN.  Medium  4to. 
34 


Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  27a,  27, 30a,  and        Note  on 
30.   Finished  Feb.  18,  issued  May  11, 1897.   Published  at        founding  the 
the  Kelmscott  Press.    Bound  in  limp  vellum.  Kelmscott 

41f .  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR-  Press 
RIS.  VOLUME  VII.  DECEMBER:  THE  GOLDEN  AP- 
PLES. THE  FOSTERING  OF  ASLAUG.  JANUARY: 
BELLEROPHON  AT  ARGOS.  THE  RING  GIVEN  TO 
VENUS.  Medium  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red. 
Borders  29a,  29,  31a,  31,  30a,  30,  27a,  and  27.  Finished 
March  17,  issued  July  29, 1897.  Published  at  the  Kelm- 
scott Press.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
45.  THE  WATER  OF  THE  WONDROUS  ISLES.  BY 
WILLIAM  MORRIS.  Large  4to.  Chaucer  type,  in  double 
columns,  with  a  few  lines  in  Troy  type  at  the  end  of  each 
of  the  seven  parts.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  16a,  17a, 
18a,  19,  and  19a.  250  on  paper  at  three  guineas,  6  on  vel- 
lum at  twelve  guineas.  Dated  April  1,  issued  July  29, 1897. 
Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
Unlike  The  Well  at  the  World's  End,  with  which  it  is  mainly 
uniform,  this  book  has  red  shoulder-notes  and  no  illustra- 
tions. Mr.  Morris  began  the  story  in  verse  on  Feb.  4, 1895. 
A  few  days  later  he  began  it  afresh  in  alternate  prose  and 
verse;  but  he  was  again  dissatisfied,  and  finally  began  it  a 
third  time  in  prose  alone,  as  it  now  stands.  It  was  first  an- 
nounced as  in  the  press  in  the  list  of  June  1, 1896,  at  which 
date  the  early  chapters  were  in  type,  although  they  were 
not  printed  until  about  a  month  later.  The  designs  for  the 
initial  words  'Whilom'  and  'Empty '  were  begun  by  Wil- 
liam Morris  shortly  before  his  death,  and  were  finished  by 
R.  Catterson-Smith.  Another  edition  was  published  by 
Longmans  on  Oct.  1, 1897. 

41g.  THE  EARTHLY  PARADISE.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR- 
RIS. VOLUME  VIII.  FEBRUARY:  BELLEROPHON  IN 
LYCIA.  THE  HILL  OF  VENUS.  EPILOGUE.  L'ENVOI. 
Medium  4to.  Golden  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  28a, 
28,  29a,  and  29.  Finished  June  10,  issued  Sept.  27,  1897. 
Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound  in  limp  vellum. 
The  colophon  of  this  final  volume  of  The  Earthly  Paradise 

35 


Note  on  contains  the  following  note:  'The  borders  in  this  edition 

founding  the         of  The  Earthly  Paradise  were  designed  by  William  Morris, 
Kelmscott  except  those  on  page  4  of  volumes  ii.,  iii.,  and  iv.,  after- 

Press  wards  repeated,  which  were  designed  to  match  the  opposite 

borders,  under  William  Morris's  direction,  by  R.  Catterson- 
Smith;  who  also  finished  the  initial  words  'Whilom'  and 
'Empty'  for  The  Water  of  the  Wondrous  Isles.  All  the 
other  letters,  borders,  title-pages  and  ornaments  used  at 
the  Kelmscott  Press,  except  the  Greek  type  in  Atalanta  in 
Calydon,  were  designed  by  William  Morris.' 
46.  TWO  TRIAL  PAGES  OF  THE  PROJECTED 
EDITION  OF  LORD  BERNERS'  TRANSLATION  OF 
FROISSART'S  CHRONICLES.  Folio.  Chaucer  type,  with 
heading  in  Troy  type.  In  black  and  red.  Border  32,  con- 
taining the  shields  of  France,  the  Empire,  and  England  and 
a  half-border  containing  those  of  Reginald  Lord  Cobham, 
Sir  John  Chandos,  and  Sir  Walter  Manny.  160  on  vellum 
at  a  guinea,  none  on  paper.  Dated  September,  issued  Octo- 
ber 7, 1897.  Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Not  bound. 
It  was  the  intention  of  Mr.  Morris  to  make  this  edition  of 
what  was  since  his  college  days  almost  his  favourite  book, 
a  worthy  companion  to  the  Chaucer.  It  was  to  have  been 
in  two  volumes  folio,  with  new  cusped  initials  and  heraldic 
ornament  throughout.  Each  volume  was  to  have  had  a 
large  frontispiece  designed  by  Sir  E.  Burne- Jones;  the  sub- 
ject of  the  first  was  to  have  been  St.  George,  that  of  the 
second,  Fame.  A  trial  page  was  set  up  in  the  Troy  type 
soon  after  it  came  from  the  foundry,  in  Jan.,  1892.  Early 
in  1893  trial  pages  were  set  up  in  the  Chaucer  type,  and 
in  the  list  for  March  9  of  that  year  the  book  is  erroneously 
stated  to  be  in  the  press.  In  the  three  following  lists  it  is 
announced  as  in  preparation.  In  the  list  dated  Dec.  1, 1893, 
and  in  the  three  next  lists,  it  is  again  announced  as  in  the 
press,  and  the  number  to  be  printed  is  given  as  150.  Mean- 
while the  printing  of  the  Chaucer  had  been  begun,  and  as 
it  was  not  feasible  to  carry  on  two  folios  at  the  same  time, 
the  Froissart  again  comes  under  the  heading  'in  prepara- 
tion '  in  the  lists  from  Dec.  1, 1894,  to  June  1, 1896.  In  the 
36 


prospectus  of  the  Shepheardes  Calender,  dated  Nov.  12,         Note  on 
1896,  it  is  announced  as  abandoned.    At  that  time  about         founding  the 
thirty-four  pages  were  in  type,  but  no  sheet  had  been         Kelmscott 
printed.  Before  the  type  was  broken  up,  on  Dec.  24,  1896,         Press 
32  copies  of  sixteen  of  these  pages  were  printed  and  given 
as  a  memento  to  personal  friends  of  the  poet  and  printer 
whose  death  now  made  the  completion  of  the  book  impos- 
sible.   This  suggested  the  idea  of  printing  two  pages  for 
wider  distribution.    The  half-border  had  been  engraved 
in  April,  1894,  by  W.  Spielmeyer,  but  the  large  border  only 
existed  as  a  drawing.    It  was  engraved  with  great  skill  and 
spirit  by  C.  E.  Keates,  and  the  two  pages  were  printed  by 
Stephen  Mowlem,  with  the  help  of  an  apprentice,  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  the  designs. 

47.  SIRE  DEGREVAUNT.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis  after 
the  edition  printed  by  J.  O.  Halliwell.  8vo.  Chaucer  type. 
In  black  and  red.  Borders  la  and  1,  and  a  woodcut  de- 
signed by  Sir  Edward  Burne- Jones.  350  on  paper  at  fif- 
teen shillings,  8  on  vellum  at  four  guineas.  Dated  Mar.  14, 
1896,  issued  Nov.  12,  1897.  Published  at  the  Kelmscott 
Press.  Bound  in  half  holland. 

This  book,  subjects  from  which  were  painted  by  Sir  Ed- 
ward Burne-Jones  on  the  walls  of  The  Red  House,  Up- 
ton, Bexley  Heath,  many  years  ago,  was  always  a  favour- 
ite with  Mr.  Morris.  The  frontispiece  was  not  printed  until 
October,  1897,  eighteen  months  after  the  text  was  finished. 

48.  SYR  YSAMBRACE.  Edited  by  F.  S.  Ellis  after  the 
edition  printed  by  J.  O.  Halliwell  from  the  MS.  in  the 
Library  of  Lincoln  Cathedral,  with  some  corrections.  8vo. 
Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Borders  4a  and  4,  and 
a  woodcut  designed  by  Sir  Edward  Burne-Jones.  350  on 
paper  at  twelve  shillings,  8  on  vellum  at  four  guineas.  Dated 
July  14,  issued  Nov.  11, 1897.  Published  at  the  Kelmscott 
Press.    Bound  in  half  holland. 

This  is  the  third  and  last  of  the  reprints  from  the  Camden 
Society's  volume  of  Thornton  Romances.  The  text  was 
all  set  up  and  partly  printed  by  June,  1896,  at  which  time  it 
was  intended  to  include  'Sir  Eglamour '  in  the  same  volume. 

37 


Note  on  49.    SOME    GERMAN    WOODCUTS   OF  THE   FIF- 

founding  the         TEENTH  CENTURY.    Being  thirty-five  reproductions 
Kelmscott  from  books  that  were  in  the  library  of  the  late  William  Mor- 

Press  ris.   Edited,  with  a  list  of  the  principal  woodcut  books  in 

that  library,  by  S.  C.  Cockerell.  Large  4to.  Golden  type. 
In  red  and  black.  225  on  paper  at  thirty  shillings,  8  on  vellum 
at  five  guineas.  Dated  Dec.  15, 1897,  issued  January  6, 1898. 
Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound  in  half  holland. 
Of  these  thirty-five  reproductions  twenty-nine  were  all  that 
were  done  of  a  series  chosen  by  Mr.  Morris  to  illustrate  a 
catalogue  of  his  library,  and  the  other  six  were  prepared 
by  him  for  an  article  in  the  4th  number  of  Bibliographica, 
part  of  which  is  reprinted  as  an  introduction  to  the  book. 
The  process  blocks  (with  one  exception)  were  made  by 
Walker  &  Boutall,  and  areof  the  same  size  as  the  original  cuts. 
50.  THE  STORY  OF  SIGURD  THE  VOLSUNG  AND 
THE  FALL  OF  THE  NIBLUNGS.  BY  WILLIAM  MOR- 
RIS. Small  folio.  Chaucer  type,  with  title  and  headings 
to  the  four  books  in  Troy  type.  In  black  and  red.  Bor- 
ders 33a  and  33,  and  two  illustrations  designed  by  Sir 
Edward  Burne-Jones.  160  on  paper  at  six  guineas,  6  on 
vellum  at  twenty  guineas.  Dated  January  19,  issued  Feb- 
ruary 25, 1898.  Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound 
in  limp  vellum. 

The  two  borders  used  in  this  book  were  almost  the  last  that 
Mr.  Morris  designed.  They  were  intended  for  an  edition 
of  The  Hill  of  Venus,  which  was  to  have  been  written  in 
prose  by  him  and  illustrated  by  Sir  E.  Burne-Jones.  The 
foliage  was  suggested  by  the  ornament  in  two  Psalters  of 
the  last  half  of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the  library  at  Kelm- 
scott House.  The  initial  A  at  the  beginning  of  the  3rd  book 
was  designed  in  March,  1893,  for  the  Froissart,  and  does 
not  appear  elsewhere. 

An  edition  of  Sigurd  the  Volsung,  which  Mr.  Morris  justly 
considered  his  masterpiece,  was  contemplated  early  in  the 
history  of  the  Kelmscott  Press.  An  announcement  appears 
in  a  proof  of  the  first  list,  dated  April,  1892,  but  it  was  ex- 
cluded from  the  list  as  issued  in  May.  It  did  not  reappear 
38 


until  the  list  of  November  26, 1895,  in  which,  the  Chaucer        Note  on 
being  near  its  completion,  Sigurd  comes  under  the  heading        founding  the 
'in  preparation,'  as  a  folio  in  Troy  type,  'with  about  twenty-        Kelmscott 
five  illustrations  by  Sir  E.  Burne- Jones.'  In  the  list  of  June        Press 
1, 1896,  it  is  finally  announced  as  'in  the  press,'  the  num- 
ber of  illustrations  is  increased  to  forty,  and  other  particu- 
lars are  given.  Four  borders  had  then  been  designed  for 
it,  two  of  which  were  used  on  pages  470  and  471  of  the 
Chaucer.   The  other  two  have  not  been  used,  though  one 
of  them  has  been  engraved.  Two  pages  only  were  in  type, 
thirty-two  copies  of  which  were  struck  off  on  Jan.  11, 1897, 
and  given  to  friends,  with  the  sixteen  pages  of  Froissart 
mentioned  above. 

51.  THE  SUNDERING  FLOOD  WRITTEN  BY  WIL- 
LIAM MORRIS.  Overseen  for  the  press  by  May  Morris. 
8vo.  Chaucer  type.  In  black  and  red.  Border  10,  and  a 
map.  300  on  paper  at  two  guineas.  Dated  Nov.  15, 1897, 
issued  Feb.  25, 1898.  Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press. 
Bound  in  half  holland. 

This  was  the  last  romance  by  William  Morris.  He  began  to 
writeit  on  Dec. 21, 1895, and  dictated  thefinal  words  on  Sept. 
8,  1896.  The  map  pasted  into  the  cover  was  drawn  by 
H.  Cribb  for  Walker  &  Boutall,  who  prepared  the  block.  In 
the  edition  that  Longmans  are  about  to  issue  the  bands  of 
robbers  called  in  the  Kelmscott  edition  Red  and  Black  Skin- 
ners appear  correctly  as  Red  and  Black  Skimmers.  The 
name  was  probably  suggested  by  that  of  the  pirates  called 
'  escumours  of  the  sea '  on  page  154  of  Godefrey  of  Boloyne. 

52.  LOVE  IS  ENOUGH,  OR  THE  FREEING  OF  PHA- 
RAMOND:  A  MORALITY.  WRITTEN  BY  WILLIAM 
MORRIS.  Large  4to.  Troy  type,  with  stage  directions  in 
Chaucer  type.  In  black,  red,  and  blue.  Borders  6a  and  7, 
and  two  illustrations  designed  by  Sir  Edward  Burne- Jones. 
300  on  paper  at  two  guineas,  8  on  vellum  at  ten  guineas. 
Dated  Dec.  11, 1897,  issued  Mar.  24, 1898.  Published  at  the 
Kelmscott  Press.   Bound  in  limp  vellum. 

This  was  the  second  book  printed  in  three  colours  at  the 
Kelmscott  Press.    As  explained  in  the  colophon,  the  final 

39 


Note  on  picture  was  not  designed  for  this  edition  of  Love  is  Enough, 

founding  the         but  for  the  projected  edition  referred  to  above,  on  page  8. 
Kelmscott  53.  A  NOTE  BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS  ON  HIS  AIMS  IN 

Press  FOUNDING  THE  KELMSCOTT  PRESS,  TOGETHER 

WITH  A  SHORT  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PRESS  BY 
S.  C.  COCKERELL,  AND  AN  ANNOTATED  LIST  OF 
THE  BOOKS  PRINTED  THEREAT.  Octavo.  Golden 
type,  with  five  pages  in  the  Troy  and  Chaucer  types.  In 
black  and  red.  Borders  4a  and  4,  and  a  woodcut  designed 
by  Sir  E.  Burne- Jones.  525  on  paper  at  ten  shillings,  12  on 
vellum  at  two  guineas.  DatedMarchl,  issued  March  24, 1898. 
Published  at  the  Kelmscott  Press.  Bound  in  half  holland. 
The  frontispiece  to  this  book  was  engraved  by  William 
Morris  for  the  projected  edition  of  The  Earthly  Paradise 
described  on  page  7.  This  block  and  the  blocks  for  the  three 
ornaments  on  page  9  are  not  included  among  those  men- 
tioned on  page  1 7  as  having  been  sent  to  the  British  Museum. 

VARIOUS  LISTS,  LEAFLETS  AND  ANNOUNCE- 
MENTS PRINTED  AT  THE  KELMSCOTT  PRESS. 
Eighteen  lists  of  the  books  printed  or  in  preparation  at  the 
Kelmscott  Press  were  issued  to  booksellers  and  subscrib- 
ers. The  dates  of  these  are  May,  July,  and  Dec,  1892; 
March  9,  May  20,  May  27,  Aug.  1,  and  Dec.  1, 1893;  March 
31,  April  21,  July  2,  Oct.  1  (a  leaflet),  and  Dec.  1,  1894; 
July  1,  and  Nov.  26, 1895;  June  1, 1896;  Feb.  16,  and  July 
28,  1897.  The  three  lists  for  1892,  and  some  copies  of  that 
for  Mar.  9, 1893,  were  printed  on  Whatman  paper,  the  last 
of  the  stock  bought  for  the  first  edition  of  The  Roots  of  the 
Mountains  (seep.  10).  Besides  these,  twenty-nine  announce- 
ments, relating  mainly  to  individual  books,  were  issued; 
and  eight  leaflets,  containing  extracts  from  the  lists,  were 
printed  for  distribution  by  Messrs.  Morris  &  Co. 
The  following  items,  as  having  a  more  permanent  interest 
than  most  of  these  announcements,  merit  a  full  description: 
1.  Two  forms  of  invitation  to  the  annual  gatherings  of  The 
Hammersmith  Socialist  Society  on  Jan.  30,  1892,  and  Feb. 
11, 1893.  Golden  type. 
40 


2.  A  four-page  leaflet  for  the  Ancoats  Brotherhood,  with        Note  on 
thefrontispiecefromtheKelmscottPresseditionofADream         founding  the 
of  John  Ball  on  the  first  page.   March,  1894.    Golden  type.         Kelmscott 
2500  copies.  Press 

3.  An  address  to  Sir  Lowthian  Bell,  Bart.,  from  his  em- 
ployes, dated  30th  June,  1894.  8  pages.  Golden  type.  250 
on  paper  and  2  on  vellum. 

4.  A  leaflet,  with  fly-leaf,  headed  An  American  Memorial 
to  Keats,  together  with  a  form  of  invitation  to  the  unveil- 
ing of  his  bust  in  Hampstead  Parish  Church  on  July  16, 

1894.  Golden  type.    750  copies. 

5.  A  slip  giving  the  text  of  a  memorial  tablet  to  Dr.  Thomas 
Sadler,  for  distribution  at  the  unveiling  of  it  in  Rosslyn  Hill 
Chapel,  Hampstead.  Nov.,  1894.  Golden  type.  450  copies. 

6.  Scholarship  certificates  for  the  Technical  Education 
Board  of  the  London  County  Council,  printed  in  the  ob- 
long borders  designed  for  the  pictures  in  Chaucer's  "Works. 
One  of  these  borders  was  not  used  in  the  book,  and  this  is 
its  only  appearance.  The  first  certificate  was  printed  in 
Nov.,  1894,  and  was  followed  in  Jan.,  1896,  by  eleven  cer- 
tificates; in  Jan.,  1897,  by  six  certificates;  and  in  Feb.,  1898, 
by  eleven  certificates,  all  differently  worded.  Golden  type. 
The  numbers  varied  from  12  to  2500  copies. 

7.  Programmes  of  the  Kelmscott  Press  annual  wayzgoose 
for  the  years  1892-5.  These  were  printed  without  super- 
vision from  Mr.  Morris. 

8.  Specimen  showing  the  three  types  used  at  the  Press  for 
insertion  in  the  first  edition  of  Strange's  Alphabets.  March, 

1895.  2000  ordinary  copies  and  60  on  large  paper. 

9.  Card  for  Associates  of  the  Deaconess  Institution  for  the 
Diocese  of  Rochester.  One  side  of  this  card  is  printed  in 
Chaucer  type;  on  the  other  there  is  a  prayer  in  the  Troy 
type  enclosed  in  a  small  border  which  was  not  used  else- 
where. It  was  designed  for  the  illustrations  of  a  projected 
edition  of  TheHouseof  the  Wolfings.  April,  1897. 250  copies. 


41 


Note  on  A  LIST  OF  THE  BOOKS  DESCRIBED  ABOVE,  page 

founding  the           1  The  Glittering  Plain  (without  illustrations)  15 

Kelmscott              2  Poems  by  the  Way  15 

Press                      3  Blunt's  Love  Lyrics  and  Songs  of  Proteus  16 

4  Ruskin's  Nature  of  Gothic  16 

5  The  Defence  of  Guenevere  16 

6  A  Dream  of  John  Ball  17 

7  The  Golden  Legend  17 

8  The  Recuyell  of  the  Historyes  of  Troye  18 

9  Mackail's  Biblia  Innocentium  19 

10  Reynard  the  Foxe  19 

11  Shakespeare's  Poems  and  Sonnets  20 

12  News  from  Nowhere  20 

13  The  Order  of  Chivalry  20 

14  Cavendish's  Life  of  Wolsey  21 

15  Godefrey  of  Boloyne  21 

16  More's  Utopia  22 

17  Tennyson's  Maud  22 

18  Gothic  Architecture,  by  William  Morris  22 

19  Sidonia  the  Sorceress  23 

20  Rossetti's  Ballads  and  Narrative  Poems  23 
20a       "         Sonnets  and  Lyrical  Poems  24 

21  King  Florus  23 

22  The  Glittering  Plain  (illustrated)  23 

23  Amis  and  Amile  24 

24  The  Poems  of  Keats  24 

25  Swinburne's  Atalanta  in  Calydon  25 

26  The  Emperor  Coustans  25 

27  The  Wood  beyond  the  World  25 

28  The  Book  of  Wisdom  and  Lies  25 

29  Shelley's  Poems,  Vol.  I.  26 
29a  "  "  II.  28 
29b              "                 "    III.  28 

30  Psalmi  Penitentiales  26 

31  Savonarola,  De  contemptu  Mundi  26 

32  Beowulf  27 

33  Syr  Perecyvelle  27 

34  The  Life  and  Death  of  Jason  27 

42 


35  Child  Christopher 

36  Rossetti's  Hand  and  Soul 

37  Herrick's  Poems 

38  Coleridge's  Poems 

39  The  Well  at  the  World's 

End 

40  Chaucer's  Works 

41  The  Earthly  Paradise,  V 
41a       " 

ol.  I. 
4     II. 

41b      " 

'     III. 

41c       " 

'     IV. 

41d      " 

'     V. 

41e       " 

'     VI. 

41f       " 

4     VII. 

41g      « 

'     VIII 

42  Laudes  Beatae  Marias  Virginis 

43  The  Floure  and  the  Leafe 

44  Spenser's  Shepheardes  Calender 

45  The  Water  of  the  Wondrous  Isles 

46  Trial  pages  of  Froissart 

47  Sire  Degrevaunt 

48  Syr  Ysambrace 

49  Some  German  Woodcuts 

50  Sigurd  the  Volsung 

51  The  Sundering  Flood 

52  Love  is  Enough 

53  A  Note  by  Milliam  Morris 


page  28 
28 
29 
29 
29 
30 
32 
33 
34 
34 
34 
34 
35 
35 
33 
33 
33 
35 
36 
37 
37 
38 
38 
39 
39 
40 


LEAFLETS,  &c. 

Various  lists  and  announcements  relating  to  the 

Kelmscott  Press  40 

1.  Hammersmith  Socialist  Society,  invitations  40 

2.  Ancoats  Brotherhood  leaflet  41 

3.  Address  to  Sir  Lowthian  Bell  41 

4.  An  American  Memorial  to  Keats  41 

5.  Memorial  to  Dr.  Thomas  Sadler  41 

6.  L.  C.  C.  Scholarship  Certificates  41 

7.  Wayzgoose  Programmes  41 

8.  Specimen  in  Strange's  Alphabets  41 

43 


Note  on 
founding  the 
Kelmscott 
Press 


Note  on  9.  Card  for  Associates  of  the  Deaconess  Institution  for 

founding  the  the  Diocese  of  Rochester  page  41 

Kelmscott 

Press  Other  works  announced  in  the  lists  as  in  preparation,  but 

afterwards  abandoned,  were  The  Tragedies,  Histories,  and 
Comedies  of  William  Shakespeare;  Caxton's  Vitas  Patrum; 
The  Poems  of  Theodore  Watts-Dunton;  and  A  Catalogue 
of  the  Collection  of  Woodcut  Books,  Early  Printed  Books, 
and  Manuscripts  at  Kelmscott  House.  The  text  of  the 
Shakespeare  was  to  have  been  prepared  by  Dr.  Furnivall. 
The  original  intention,  as  first  set  out  in  the  list  of  May  20, 
1893,  was  to  print  it  in  three  vols,  folio.  A  trial  page  from 
Lady  Macbeth,  printed  at  this  time,  is  in  existence.  The 
same  information  is  repeated  until  the  list  of  July  2,  1895, 
in  which  the  book  is  announced  as  to  be  a  'small  4to  (spe- 
cial size),'  i.  e.,  the  size  afterwards  adopted  for  The  Earthly 
Paradise.  It  was  not,  however,  begun,  nor  was  the  volume 
of  Mr.  Watts-Dunton's  poems.  Of  the  Vitas  Patrum,  which 
was  to  have  been  uniform  with  The  Golden  Legend,  a  pro- 
spectus and  specimen  page  were  issued  in  March,  1894,  but 
the  number  of  subscribers  did  not  justify  its  going  beyond 
this  stage.  Two  trial  pages  of  the  Catalogue  were  set  up; 
some  of  the  material  prepared  for  it  has  now  appeared  in 
Some  German  Woodcuts  of  the  Fifteenth  Century.  In  ad- 
dition to  these  books,  The  Hill  of  Venus,  as  stated  on  p.  57, 
was  in  preparation.  Among  works  that  Mr.  Morris  had  some 
thought  of  printing  may  also  be  mentioned  The  Bible,  Gesta 
Romanorum,  Malory's  Morte  Darthur,  The  High  History 
of  the  San  Graal  (translated  by  Dr.  Sebastian  Evans)  Piers 
Ploughman,  Huon  of  Bordeaux,  Caxton's  Jason,  a  Latin 
Psalter,  The  Prymer  or  Lay  Folk's  Prayer-Book,  Some 
Mediaeval  English  Songs  and  Music,  The  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
and  a  Book  of  Romantic  Ballads.  He  was  engaged  on  the 
selection  of  the  Ballads,  which  he  spoke  of  as  the  finest 
poems  in  our  language,  during  his  last  illness. 


44 


THE  IDEAL  BOOK:  AN  ADDRESS  BY  WILLIAM 
MORRIS,  DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  BIBLIOGRA- 
PHICAL SOCIETY  OF  LONDON,  MDCCCXCIII. 


By  the  Ideal  Book,  I  suppose  we  are  to  understand  a  book 
not  limited  by  commercial  exigencies  of  price:  we  can  do 
what  we  like  with  it,  according  to  what  its  nature,  as  a 
book,  demands  of  art.  But  we  may  conclude,  I  think,  that 
its  matter  will  limit  us  somewhat;  a  work  on  differential 
calculus,  a  medical  work,  a  dictionary,  a  collection  of  a 
statesman's  speeches,  or  a  treatise  on  manures,  such  books, 
though  they  might  be  handsomely  and  well  printed,  would 
scarcely  receive  ornament  with  the  same  exuberance  as  a 
volume  of  lyrical  poems,  or  a  standard  classic,  or  such 
like.  A  work  on  Art,  I  think,  bears  less  of  ornament  than 
any  other  kind  of  book  ("non  bis  in  idem"  is  a  good 
motto) ;  again,  a  book  that  must  have  illustrations,  more 
or  less  utilitarian,  should,  I  think,  have  no  actual  ornament 
at  all,  because  the  ornament  and  the  illustration  must  al- 
most certainly  fight. 

Still  whatever  the  subject  matter  of  the  book  may  be,  and 
however  bare  it  may  be  of  decoration,  it  can  still  be  a 
work  of  art,  if  the  type  be  good  and  attention  be  paid  to 
its  general  arrangement.  All  here  present,  I  should  sup- 
pose, will  agree  in  thinking  an  opening  of  Schceffer's  1462 
Bible  beautiful,  even  when  it  has  neither  been  illuminated 
nor  rubricated;  the  same  may  be  said  of  Schussler,  or 
Jenson,  or,  in  short,  of  any  of  the  good  old  printers;  their 
books,  without  any  further  ornament  than  they  derived 
from  the  design  and  arrangement  of  the  letters,  were  defi- 
nite works  of  art.  In  fact  a  book,  printed  or  written,  has 
a  tendency  to  be  a  beautiful  object,  and  that  we  of  this  age 
should  generally  produce  ugly  books,  shows,  I  fear,  some- 
thing like  malice  prepense — a  determation  to  put  our  eyes 
in  our  pockets  wherever  we  can. 

Well,  I  lay  it  down,  first,  that  a  book  quite  unornamented 
can  look  actually  and  positively  beautiful,  and  not  merely 
un-ugly,  if  it  be,  so  to  say,  architecturally  good,  which,  by 
the  by,  need  not  add  much  to  its  price,  since  it  costs  no 
more  to  pick  up  pretty  stamps  than  ugly  ones,  and  the  taste 
and  forethought  that  goes  to  the  proper  setting,  position, 
and  so  on,  will  soon  grow  into  a  habit,  if  cultivated,  and 

1 


The 

Ideal  Book 

An 

Address 


The  will  not  take  up  much  of  the  master  printer's  time  when 

Ideal  Book         taken  with  his  other  necessary  business. 

An  Now,  then,  let  us  see  what  this  architectural  arrangement 

Address  claims  of  us.    First,  the  pages  must  be  clear  and  easy  to 

read;  which  they  can  hardly  be  unless,  Secondly,  the  type 

is  well  designed;  and  Thirdly,  whether  the  margins  be 

small  or  big,  they  must  be  in  due  proportion  to  the  page  of 

the  letter. 

For  clearness  of  reading  the  things  necessary  to  be  heeded 
are,  first,  that  the  letters  should  be  properly  put  on  their 
bodies,  and,  I  think,  especially  that  there  should  be  small 
whites  between  them;  it  is  curious,  but  to  me  certain,  that 
the  irregularity  of  some  early  type,  notably  the  roman  let- 
ter of  the  early  printers  of  Rome,  which  is,  of  all  roman 
type,  the  rudest,  does  not  tend  toward  illegibility:  what 
does  so  is  the  lateral  compression  of  the  letter,  which  neces- 
sarily involves  the  over  thinning  out  of  its  shape.  Of  course 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  above-mentioned  irregularity 
is  other  than  a  fault  to  be  corrected.  One  thing  should 
never  be  done  in  ideal  printing,  the  spacing  out  of  letters — 
that  is,  putting  an  extra  white  between  them;  except  in 
such  hurried  and  unimportant  work  as  newspaper  print- 
ing, it  is  inexcusable. 

This  leads  to  the  second  matter  on  this  head,  the  lateral 
spacing  of  words  (the  whites  between  them) ;  to  make  a 
beautiful  page  great  attention  should  be  paid  to  this,  which, 
I  fear,  is  not  often  done.  No  more  white  should  be  used 
between  the  words  than  just  clearly  cuts  them  off  from  one 
another;  if  the  whites  are  bigger  than  this  it  both  tends  to 
illegibility  and  makes  the  page  ugly.  I  remember  once 
buying  a  handsome  fifteenth-century  Venetian  book,  and 
I  could  not  tell  at  first  why  some  of  its  pages  were  so  wor- 
rying to  read,  and  so  commonplace  and  vulgar  to  look  at, 
for  there  was  no  fault  to  find  with  the  type.  But  presently 
it  was  accounted  for  by  the  spacing:  for  the  said  pages 
were  spaced  like  a  modern  book,  i.  e.,  the  black  and  white 
nearly  equal.  Next,  if  you  want  a  legible  book,  the  white 
should  be  clear  and  the  black  black.  When  that  excellent 
2 


journal,  the  Westminster  Gazette,  first  came  out,  there  was        The 
a  discussion  on  the  advantages  of  its  green  paper,  in  which         Ideal  Book 
a  good  deal  of  nonsense  was  talked.   My  friend,  Mr.  Jacobi,         An 
being  a  practical  printer,  set  these  wise  men  right,  if  they         Address 
noticed  his  letter,  as  I  fear  they  did  not,  by  pointing  out 
that  what  they  had  done  was  to  lower  the  tone  (not  the 
moral  tone)  of  the  paper,  and  that,  therefore,  in  order  to 
make  it  as  legible  as  ordinary  black  and  white,  they  should 
make  their  black  blacker — which  of  course  they  do  not  do. 
You  may  depend  upon  it  that  a  gray  page  is  very  trying 
to  the  eyes. 

As  above  said,  legibility  depends  also  much  on  the  design 
of  the  letter:  and  again  I  take  up  the  cudgels  against  com- 
pressed type,  and  that  especially  in  roman  letter:  the  full- 
sized  lower-case  letters  "a,"  "b,"  "d,"  and  "c,"  should  be 
designed  on  something  like  a  square  to  get  good  results: 
otherwise  one  may  fairly  say  that  there  is  no  room  for  the 
design;  furthermore,  each  letter  should  have  its  due  char- 
acteristic drawing,  the  thickening  out  for  a  "b,"  "e,"  "g," 
should  not  be  of  the  same  kind  as  that  for  a  "d";  a  "u" 
should  not  merely  be  an  "n"  turned  upside  down;  the  dot  of 
the  "i"  should  not  be  a  circle  drawn  with  compasses;  but 
a  delicately  drawn  diamond,  and  so  on.  To  be  short,  the 
letters  should  be  designed  by  an  artist,  and  not  an  engi- 
neer. As  to  the  forms  of  letters  in  England  (I  mean  Great 
Britain),  there  has  been  much  progress  within  the  last  forty 
years.  The  sweltering  hideousness  of  the  Bodoni  letter, 
the  most  illegible  type  that  was  ever  cut,  with  its  prepos- 
terous thicks  and  thins,  has  been  mostly  relegated  to  works 
that  do  not  profess  anything  but  the  baldest  utilitarianism 
(though  why  even  utilitarianism  should  use  illegible  types, 
I  fail  to  see),  and  Caslon's  letter  and  the  somewhat  wiry, 
but  in  its  way,  elegant  old-faced  type  cut  in  our  own  days, 
has  largely  taken  its  place.  It  is  rather  unlucky,  however, 
that  a  somewhat  low  standard  of  excellence  has  been  ac- 
cepted for  the  design  of  modern  roman  type  at  its  best, 
the  comparatively  poor  and  wiry  letter  of  Plantin  and 
the  Elzevirs  having  served  for  the  model,  rather  than  the 

3 


The  generous  and  logical  designs  of  the  fifteenth-century  Vene- 

Ideal  Book         tian  printers,  at  the  head  of  whom  stands  Nicholas  Jenson ; 
An  when  it  is  so  obvious  that  this  is  the  best  and  clearest  roman 

Address  type  yet  struck,  it  seems  a  pity  that  we  should  make  our 

starting-point  for  a  possible  new  departure  at  any  period 
worse  than  the  best.  If  any  of  you  doubt  the  superiority 
of  this  type  over  that  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  study 
of  a  specimen  enlarged  about  five  times  will  convince  him, 
I  should  think.  I  must  admit,  however,  that  a  commercial 
consideration  comes  in  here,  to  wit,  that  the  Jenson  letters 
take  up  more  room  than  the  imitations  of  the  seventeenth 
century ;  and  that  touches  on  another  commercial  difficulty, 
to  wit,  that  you  cannot  have  a  book  either  handsome  or 
clear  to  read  which  is  printed  in  small  characters.  For 
my  part,  except  where  books  smaller  than  an  ordinary 
octavo  are  wanted,  I  would  fight  against  anything  smaller 
than  pica;  but  at  any  rate  small  pica  seems  to  me  the 
smallest  type  that  should  be  used  in  the  body  of  any  book. 
I  might  suggest  to  printers  that  if  they  want  to  get  more 
in  they  can  reduce  the  size  of  the  leads,  or  leave  them  out 
altogether.  Of  course  this  is  more  desirable  in  some  types 
than  in  others;  Caslon's  letter,  e.  g.,  which  has  long  ascend- 
ers and  descenders,  never  needs  leading,  except  for  spe- 
cial purposes. 

I  have  hitherto  had  a  fine  and  generous  roman  type  in 
my  mind,  but  after  all  a  certain  amount  of  variety  is  de- 
sirable, and  when  you  have  gotten  your  roman  letter  as 
good  as  the  best  that  has  been,  I  do  not  think  you  will 
find  much  scope  for  development  of  it;  I  would  therefore 
put  in  a  word  for  some  form  of  gothic  letter  for  use  in 
our  improved  printed  book.  This  may  startle  some  of 
you,  but  you  must  remember  that  except  for  a  very  re- 
markable type  used  very  seldom  by  Berthelette  (I  have 
only  seen  two  books  in  this  type.  Bartholomew,  the  Eng- 
lishman, and  the  Gower,  of  1532),  English  black-letter, 
since  the  days  of  Wynkin  de  Worde,  has  been  always 
the  letter  which  was  introduced  from  Holland  about  that 
time  (I  except  again,  of  course,  the  modern  imitations  of 
4 


Caxton).  Now  this,  though  a  handsome  and  stately  letter, 
is  not  very  easy  reading;  it  is  too  much  compressed,  too 
spiky,  and  so  to  say,  too  prepensely  gothic.  But  there  are 
many  types  which  are  of  a  transitional  character  and  of 
all  degrees  of  transition,  from  those  which  do  little  more 
than  take  in  just  a  little  of  the  crisp  floweriness  of  the 
gothic,  like  some  of  the  Mentelin  or  quasi-Mentelin  ones 
(which,  indeed,  are  models  of  beautiful  simplicity),  or  say 
like  the  letter  of  the  Ulm  Ptolemy,  of  which  it  is  difficult 
to  say  whether  it  is  gothic  or  roman,  to  the  splendid  Mainz 
type,  of  which,  I  suppose,  the  finest  specimen  is  the  Schceff  er 
Bible  of  1462,  which  is  almost  wholly  gothic.  This  gives 
us  a  wide  field  for  variety,  I  think,  so  I  make  the  sugges- 
tion to  you,  and  leave  this  part  of  the  subject  with  two 
remarks:  first,  that  a  good  deal  of  the  difficulty  of  reading 
gothic  books  is  caused  by  the  numerous  contractions  in 
them,  which  were  a  survival  of  the  practice  of  the  scribes; 
and  in  a  lesser  degree  by  the  over-abundance  of  tied  let- 
ters, both  of  which  drawbacks,  I  take  it  for  granted,  would 
be  absent  in  modern  types  founded  on  these  semi-gothic 
letters.  And,  secondly,  that  in  my  opinion  the  capitals  are 
the  strong  side  of  roman  and  the  lower-case  of  gothic  let- 
ter, which  is  but  natural,  since  the  roman  was  originally 
an  alphabet  of  capitals,  and  the  lower  case  a  gradual  de- 
duction from  them. 

We  now  come  to  the  position  of  the  page  of  print  on  the 
paper,  which  is  a  most  important  point,  and  one  that  till 
quite  lately  has  been  wholly  misunderstood  by  modern, 
and  seldom  done  wrong  by  ancient  printers,  or  indeed  by 
producers  of  books  of  any  kind.  On  this  head  I  must  be- 
gin by  reminding  you  that  we  only  occasionally  see  one 
page  of  a  book  at  a  time;  the  two  pages  making  an  open- 
ing are  really  the  unit  of  the  book,  and  this  was  thoroughly 
understood  by  the  old  book  producers.  I  think  you  will  sel- 
dom find  a  book  produced  before  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  which  has  not  been  cut  down  by  that  enemy  of  books 
(and  of  the  human  race),  the  binder,  in  which  this  rule  is 
not  adhered  to:  that  the  binder  edge  (that  which  is  bound 

5 


The 

Ideal  Book 
An 
Address 


in)  must  be  the  smallest  member  of  the  margins,  the  head 
margin  must  be  larger  than  this,  the  fore  larger  still,  and 
the  tail  largest  of  all.  I  assert  that,  to  the  eye  of  any  man 
who  knows  what  proportion  is,  this  looks  satisfactory,  and 
that  no  other  does  so  look.  But  the  modern  printer,  as  a 
rule,  dumps  down  the  page  in  what  he  calls  the  middle  of 
the  paper,  which  is  often  not  even  really  the  middle,  as  he 
measures  his  page  from  the  head  line,  if  he  has  one,  though 
it  is  not  really  a  part  of  the  page,  but  a  spray  of  type  only 
faintly  staining  the  head  of  the  paper.  Now  I  go  so  far  as 
to  say  that  any  book  in  which  the  page  is  properly  put  on 
the  paper  is  tolerable  to  look  at,  however  poor  the  type 
may  be  (always  so  long  as  there  is  no  "ornament"  which 
may  spoil  the  whole  thing),  whereas  any  book  in  which 
the  page  is  wrongly  set  on  the  paper  is  intolerable  to  look 
at,  however  good  the  type  and  ornaments  may  be.  I  have 
got  on  my  shelves  now  a  Jenson's  Latin  Pliny,  which,  in 
spite  of  its  beautiful  type  and  handsome  painted  orna- 
ments, I  dare  scarcely  look  at,  because  the  binder  (adjec- 
tives fail  me  here)  has  chopped  off  two-thirds  of  the  tail 
margin:  such  stupidities  are  like  a  man  with  his  coat  but- 
toned up  behind,  or  a  lady  with  her  bonnet  on  hind-side 
foremost. 

Before  I  finish  I  should  like  to  say  a  word  concerning 
large-paper  copies.  I  am  clean  against  them,  though  I 
have  sinned  a  good  deal  in  that  way  myself,  but  that  was 
in  the  days  of  ignorance,  and  I  petition  for  pardon  on  that 
ground  only.  If  you  want  to  publish  a  handsome  edition 
of  a  book,  as  well  as  a  cheap  one,  do  so,  but  let  them  be  two 
books,  and  if  you  (or  the  public)  cannot  afford  this,  spend 
your  ingenuity  and  your  money  in  making  the  cheap  book 
as  sightly  as  you  can.  Your  making  a  large-paper  copy 
out  of  the  small  one  lands  you  in  a  dilemma  even  if  you 
re-impose  the  pages  for  the  large  paper,  which  is  not  often 
done,  I  think.  If  the  margins  are  right  for  the  smaller  book 
they  must  be  wrong  for  the  larger,  and  you  have  to  offer 
the  public  the  worse  book  at  the  bigger  price;  if  they  are 
right  for  the  large  paper  they  are  wrong  for  the  small,  and 
6 


thus  spoil  it,  as  we  have  seen  above  that  they  must  do ;  and        The 
that  seems  scarcely  fair  to  the  general  public  (from  the        Ideal  Book 
point  of  view  of  artistic  morality)  who  might  have  had  a        An 
book  that  was  sightly,  though  not  high-priced.  Address 

As  to  the  paper  of  our  ideal  book,  we  are  at  a  great  disad- 
vantage compared  with  past  times.  Up  to  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth,  or  indeed,  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
turies, no  bad  paper  was  made,  and  the  greater  part  was 
very  good  indeed.  At  present  there  is  very  little  good  pa- 
per made  and  most  of  it  is  very  bad.  Our  ideal  book  must, 
I  think,  be  printed  on  hand-made  paper  as  good  as  it  can 
be  made;  penury  here  will  make  a  poor  book  of  it.  Yet  if 
machine-made  paper  must  be  used,  it  should  not  profess 
fineness  or  luxury,  but  should  show  itself  for  what  it  is: 
for  my  part  I  decidedly  prefer  the  cheaper  papers  that  are 
used  for  the  journals,  so  far  as  appearance  is  concerned, 
to  the  thick,  smooth,  sham-fine  papers  on  which  respecta- 
ble books  are  printed,  and  the  worst  of  these  are  those 
which  imitate  the  structure  of  hand-made  papers. 
But,  granted  your  hand-made  paper,  there  is  something  to 
be  said  about  the  substance.  A  small  book  should  not  be 
printed  on  thick  paper,  however  good  it  may  be.  You 
want  a  book  to  turn  over  easily,  and  to  lie  quiet  while  you 
are  reading  it,  which  is  impossible,  unless  you  keep  heavy 
paper  for  big  books. 

And,  by  the  way,  I  wish  to  make  a  protest  against  the  su- 
perstition that  only  small  books  are  comfortable  to  read; 
some  small  books  are  tolerably  comfortable,  but  the  best 
of  them  are  not  so  comfortable  as  a  fairly  big  folio,  the 
size,  say,  of  an  uncut  Polyphilus  or  somewhat  bigger.  The 
fact  is,  a  small  book  seldom  does  lie  quiet,  and  you  have 
to  cramp  your  hand  by  holding  it  or  else  put  it  on  the 
table  with  a  paraphernalia  of  matters  to  keep  it  down,  a 
tablespoon  on  one  side,  a  knife  on  another,  and  so  on, 
which  things  always  tumble  off  at  a  critical  moment,  and 
fidget  you  out  of  the  repose  which  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  reading;  whereas,  a  big  folio  lies  quiet  and  majestic  on 
the  table,  waiting  kindly  till  you  please  to  come  to  it,  with 

7 


The  its  leaves  flat  and  peaceful,  giving  you  no  trouble  of  body, 

Ideal  Book         so  that  your  mind  is  free  to  enjoy  the  literature  which  its 

An  beauty  enshrines. 

Address  So  far  then,  I  have  been  speaking  of  books  whose  only  or- 

nament is  the  necessary  and  essential  beauty  which  arises 
out  of  the  fitness  of  a  piece  of  craftsmanship  for  the  use 
which  it  is  made  for.  But  if  we  get  as  far  as  that,  no  doubt 
from  such  craftsmanship  definite  ornament  will  arise,  and 
will  be  used,  sometimes  with  wise  forbearance,  sometimes 
with  prodigality  equally  wise.  Meantime,  if  we  really  feel 
impelled  to  ornament  our  books,  no  doubt  we  ought  to  try 
what  we  can  do ;  but  in  this  attempt  we  must  remember  one 
thing,  that  if  we  think  the  ornament  is  ornamentally  apart  of 
the  book  merely  because  it  is  printed  with  it,  and  bound  up 
with  it,  we  shall  be  much  mistaken.  The  ornament  must 
form  as  much  a  part  of  the  book  as  the  type  itself,  or  it  will 
miss  its  mark,  and  in  order  to  succeed,  and  to  be  ornament, 
it  must  submit  to  certain  limitations,  and  become  architec- 
tural; a  mere  black  and  white  picture,  however  interesting 
it  may  be  as  a  picture,  may  be  far  from  an  ornament  in  a 
book;  while  on  the  other  hand  a  book  ornamented  with  pic- 
tures that  are  suitable  for  that,  and  that  alone,  may  become 
a  work  of  art  second  to  none,  save  a  fine  building  duly  dec- 
orated, or  a  fine  piece  of  literature. 
These  two  latter  things  are,  indeed,  the  one  absolutely 
necessary  gift  that  we  should  claim  of  art.  The  picture- 
book  is  not,  perhaps,  absolutely  necessary  to  man's  life, 
but  it  gives  us  such  endless  pleasure,  and  is  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  other  absolutely  necessary  art  of  im- 
aginative literature  that  it  must  remain  one  of  the  very 
worthiest  things  toward  the  production  of  which  reason- 
able men  should  strive. 


8 


AN  ESSAY  ON  PRINTING,  BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS 
AND  EMERY  WALKER,  FROM  ARTS  AND  CRAFTS 
ESSAYS  BY  MEMBERS  OF  THE  ARTS  AND  CRAFTS 
EXHIBITION  SOCIETY. 


Printing,  in  the  only  sense  with  which  we  are  at  present         An 
concerned,  differs  from  most  if  not  from  all  the  arts  and         Essay 
crafts  represented  in  the  exhibition  in  being  comparatively 
modern.    For  although  the  Chinese  took  impressions  from         Printing 
wood  blocks  engraved  in  relief  for  centuries  before  the 
wood-cutters  of  the  Netherlands,  by  a  similar  process,  pro- 
duced the  block  books,  which  were  the  immediate  prede- 
cessors of  the  true  printed  book,  the  invention  of  movable 
metal  letters  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  may 
justly  be  considered  as  the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing. 
And  it  is  worth  mention  in  passing  that,  as  an  example  of 
fine  typography,  the  earliest  book  printed  with  movable 
types,  the  Gutenberg,  or  " forty-two  line  Bible"  of  about 
1455,  has  never  been  surpassed. 

Printing,  then,  for  our  purpose,  may  be  considered  as  the 
art  of  making  books  by  means  of  movable  types.  Now,  as 
all  books  not  primarily  intended  as  picture-books  consist 
principally  of  types  composed  to  form  letterpress,  it  is  of 
the  first  importance  that  the  letter  used  should  be  fine  in 
form;  especially  as  no  more  time  is  occupied,  or  cost  in- 
curred, in  casting,  setting,  or  printing  beautiful  letters  than 
in  the  same  operations  with  ugly  ones.  And  it  was  a  mat- 
ter of  course  that  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  craftsmen 
took  care  that  beautiful  form  should  always  be  a  part  of 
their  productions  whatever  they  were,  the  forms  of  printed 
letters  should  be  beautiful,  and  that  their  arrangement  on 
the  page  should  be  reasonable  and  a  help  to  the  shapeli- 
ness of  the  letters  themselves.  The  Middle  Ages  brought 
caligraphy  to  perfection,  and  it  was  natural  therefore  that 
the  forms  of  printed  letters  should  follow  more  or  less 
closely  those  of  the  written  character,  and  they  followed 
them  very  closely.  The  first  books  were  printed  in  black 
letter,  i.  e.,  the  letter  which  was  a  Gothic  development  of 
the  ancient  Roman  character,  and  which  developed  more 
completely  and  satisfactorily  on  the  side  of  the  "lower- 
case" than  the  capital  letters;  the  "lower-case"  being  in 
fact  invented  in  the  early  Middle  Ages.  The  earliest  book 
printed  with  movable  type,  the  aforesaid  Gutenberg  Bible, 

11 


An  is  printed  in  letters  which  are  an  exact  imitation  of  the  more 

Essay  formal  ecclesiastical  writing  which  obtained  at  that  time; 

on  this  has  since  been  called  "  missal  type,"  and  was  in  fact 

Printing  the  kind  of  letter  used  in  the  many  splendid  missals,  psalters, 
etc.,  produced  by  printing  in  the  fifteenth  century.  But  the 
first  Bible  actually  dated  (which  also  was  printed  at  Maintz 
by  Peter  Schceffer  in  the  year  1462)  imitates  a  much  freer 
hand,  simpler,  rounder,  and  less  spiky,  and  therefore  far 
pleasanter  and  easier  to  read.  On  the  whole  the  type  of  this 
book  may  be  considered  the  ne-plus-ultra  of  Gothic  type, 
especially  as  regards  the  lower-case  letters;  and  type  very 
similar  was  used  during  the  next  fifteen  or  twenty  years 
not  only  by  Schceffer,  but  by  printers  in  Strasburg,  Basle, 
Paris,  Lubeck,  and  other  cities.  But  though  on  the  whole, 
except  in  Italy,  Gothic  letter  was  most  often  used,  a  very 
few  years  saw  the  birth  of  Roman  character  not  only  in 
Italy,  but  in  Germany  and  France.  In  1465  Sweynheim 
and  Pannartz  began  printing  in  the  monastery  of  Subiaco 
near  Rome,  and  used  an  exceedingly  beautiful  type,  which 
is  indeed  to  look  at  a  transition  between  Gothic  and  Ro- 
man, but  which  must  certainly  have  come  from  the  study 
of  the  twelfth  or  even  the  eleventh  century  MSS.  They 
printed  very  few  books  in  this  type,  three  only;  but  in  their 
very  first  books  in  Rome,  beginning  with  the  year  1468, 
they  discarded  this  for  a  more  completely  Roman  and  far 
less  beautiful  letter.  But  about  the  same  year  Mentelin  at 
Strasburg  began  to  print  in  a  type  which  is  distinctly  Ro- 
man; and  the  next  year  Gunther  Zeiner  at  Augsburg  fol- 
lowed suit;  while  in  1470  at  Paris  Udalric  Gering  and  his 
associates  turned  out  the  first  books  printed  in  France,  also 
in  Roman  character.  The  Roman  type  of  all  these  printers 
is  similar  in  character,  and  is  very  simple  and  legible,  and 
unaffectedly  designed  for  use;  but  it  is  by  no  means  with- 
out beauty.  It  must  be  said  that  it  is  in  no  way  like  the 
transition  type  of  Subiaco,  and  though  more  Roman  than 
that,  yet  scarcely  more  like  the  complete  Roman  type  of 
the  earliest  printers  of  Rome. 

A  further  development  of  the  Roman  letter  took  place  at 
12 


Venice.  John  of  Spires  and  his  brother  Vindelin,  followed 
by  Nicholas  Jenson,  began  to  print  in  that  city,  1469, 1470;  Essay 
their  type  is  on  the  lines  of  the  German  and  French  rather  on 
than  of  the  Roman  printers.  Of  Jenson  it  must  be  said  that  Printing 
he  carried  the  development  of  Roman  type  as  far  as  it  can 
go:  his  letter  is  admirably  clear  and  regular,  but  at  least 
as  beautiful  as  any  other  Roman  type.  After  his  death  in 
the  "fourteen  eighties,"  or  at  least  by  1490,  printing  in  Venice 
had  declined  very  much;  and  though  the  famous  family  of 
Aldus  restored  its  technical  excellence,  rejecting  battered 
letters,  and  paying  great  attention  to  the  "press  work"  or 
actual  process  of  printing,  yet  their  type  is  artistically  on 
a  much  lower  level  than  Jenson's,  and  in  fact  they  must  be 
considered  to  have  ended  the  age  of  fine  printing  in  Italy. 
Jenson,  however,  had  many  contemporaries  who  used  beau- 
tiful type,  some  of  which — as,  e.  g.,  that  of  Jacobus  Rubeus 
or  Jacques  le  Rouge — is  scarcely  distinguishable  from  his. 
It  was  these  great  Venetian  printers,  together  with  their 
brethren  of  Rome,  Milan,  Parma,  and  one  or  two  other  cities, 
who  produced  the  splendid  editions  of  the  Classics,  which 
are  one  of  the  great  glories  of  the  printer's  art,  and  are  wor- 
thy representatives  of  the  eager  enthusiasm  for  the  revived 
learning  of  that  epoch.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  these  Italian 
printers,  it  should  be  mentioned,  were  Germans  or  French- 
men, working  under  the  influence  of  Italian  opinion  and  aims. 
It  must  beunderstood  that  through  the  whole  of  the  fifteenth 
and  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  centuries  the  Roman 
letter  was  used  side  by  side  with  the  Gothic.  Even  in  Italy 
most  of  the  theological  and  lawbooks  were  printed  in  Gothic 
letter,  which  was  generally  more  formally  Gothic  than  the 
printing  of  the  German  workmen,  many  of  whose  types, 
indeed,  like  that  of  the  Subiaco  works,  are  of  a  transitional 
character.  This  was  notably  the  case  with  the  early  works 
printed  at  Ulm,  and  in  a  somewhat  lesser  degree  at  Augs- 
burg. In  fact  Gunther  Zeiner's  first  type  (afterwards  used 
by  Schussler)  is  remarkably  like  the  type  of  the  before- 
mentioned  Subiaco  books. 

In  the  Low  Countries  and  Cologne,  which  were  very  fertile 

13 


An  of  printed  books,  Gothic  was  the  favourite.   The  charac- 

Essay  teristic  Dutch  type,  as  represented  by  the  excellent  printer 

on  Gerard  Leew,  is  very  pronounced  and  uncompromising 

Printing  Gothic.  This  type  was  introduced  into  England  by  Wy  nky  n 
de  Worde,  Caxton's  successor,  and  was  used  there  with  very 
little  variation  all  through  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  and  indeed  into  the  eighteenth.  Most  of  Caxton's 
own  types  are  of  an  earlier  character,  though  they  also 
much  resemble  Flemish  or  Cologne  letter.  After  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century  the  degradation  of  printing,  espe- 
cially in  Germany  and  Italy,  went  on  apace;  and  by  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century  there  was  no  really  beautiful 
printing  done:  the  best,  mostly  French  or  Low-Country, 
was  neat  and  clear,  but  without  any  distinction;  the  worst, 
which  perhaps  was  the  English,  was  a  terrible  falling-off 
from  the  work  of  the  earlier  presses;  and  things  got  worse 
and  worse  through  the  whole  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
so  that  in  the  eighteenth  printing  was  very  miserably  per- 
formed. In  England  about  this  time,  an  attempt  was  made 
(notably  by  Caslon,  who  started  business  in  London  as  a 
type-founder  in  1720)  to  improve  the  letter  in  form.  Cas- 
lon's  type  is  clear  and  neat,  and  fairly  well  designed;  he 
seems  to  have  taken  the  letter  of  the  Elzevirs  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  for  his  model:  type  cast  from  his  matrices 
is  still  in  everyday  use. 

In  spite,  however,  of  his  praiseworthy  efforts,  printing  had 
still  one  last  degradation  to  undergo.  The  seventeenth  cen- 
tury founts  were  bad  rather  negatively  than  positively.  But 
for  the  beauty  of  the  earlier  work  they  might  have  seemed 
tolerable.  It  was  reserved  for  the  founders  of  the  later  eigh- 
teenth century  to  produce  letters  which  are  positively  ugly, 
and  which,  it  may  be  added,  are  dazzling  and  unpleasant 
to  the  eye  owing  to  the  clumsy  thickening  and  vulgar  thin- 
ning of  the  lines:  for  the  seventeenth-century  letters  are  at 
least  pure  and  simple  in  line.  The  Italian,  Bodoni,  and  the 
Frenchman,  Didot,  were  the  leaders  in  this  luckless  change, 
though  our  own  Baskerville,  who  was  at  work  some  years 
before  them,  went  much  on  the  same  lines;  but  his  letters, 
14 


though  uninteresting  and  poor,  are  not  nearly  so  gross  and 
vulgar  as  those  of  either  the  Italian  or  the  Frenchman.  Essay 

With  this  change  the  art  of  printing  touched  bottom,  so  far 
as  fine  printing  is  concerned,  though  paper  did  not  get  to  Printing 
its  worst  till  about  1840.  The  Chiswick  press  in  1844  re- 
vived Caslon's  founts,  printing  for  Messrs.  Longman  the 
Diary  of  Lady  Willoughby.  This  experiment  was  so  far 
successful  that  about  1850  Messrs.  Miller  and  Richard  of 
Edinburgh  were  induced  to  cut  punches  for  a  series  of  "old 
style"  letters.  These  and  similar  founts,  cast  by  the  above 
firm  and  others,  have  now  come  into  general  use  and  are 
obviously  a  great  improvement  on  the  ordinary  "modern 
style"  in  use  in  England,  which  is  in  fact  the  Bodoni  type 
a  little  reduced  in  ugliness.  The  design  of  the  letters  of  this 
modern  "old  style"  leaves  a  good  deal  to  be  desired,  and 
the  whole  effect  is  a  little  too  gray,  owing  to  the  thinness 
of  the  letters.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  most 
modern  printing  is  done  by  machinery  on  soft  paper,  and 
not  by  the  hand  press,  and  these  somewhat  wiry  letters  are 
suitable  for  the  machine  process,  which  would  not  do  jus- 
tice to  letters  of  more  generous  design. 
It  is  discouraging  to  note  that  the  improvement  of  the  last 
fifty  years  is  almost  wholly  confined  to  Great  Britain.  Here 
and  there  a  book  is  printed  in  France  or  Germany  with  some 
pretension  to  good  taste,  but  the  general  revival  of  the  old 
forms  has  made  no  way  in  those  countries.  Italy  is  con- 
tentedly stagnant.  America  has  produced  a  good  many 
showy  books,  the  typography,  paper,  and  illustrations  of 
which  are,  however,  all  wrong,  oddity  rather  than  rational 
beauty  and  meaning  being  apparently  the  thing  sought  for 
both  in  the  letters  and  the  illustrations. 
To  say  a  few  words  on  the  principles  of  design  in  typogra- 
phy :  it  is  obvious  that  legibility  is  the  first  thing  to  be  aimed 
at  in  the  forms  of  the  letters;  this  is  best  furthered  by  the 
avoidance  of  irrational  swellings  and  spiky  projections,  and 
by  the  using  of  careful  purity  of  line.  Even  the  Calson  type 
when  enlarged  shows  great  shortcomings  in  this  respect: 
the  ends  of  many  of  the  letters  such  as  the  t  and  e  are  hooked 

15 


An  up  in  a  vulgar  and  meaningless  way,  instead  of  ending  in 

Essay  the  sharp  and  clear  stroke  of  Jenson's  letters;  there  is  a 

on  grossness  in  the  upper  finishings  of  letters  like  the  c,  the 

Printing  a,  andso  on,  an  ugly  pear-shaped  swelling  defacing  theform 
of  the  letter:  in  short,  it  happens  to  this  craft,  as  to  others, 
that  the  utilitarian  practice,  though  it  professes  to  avoid  or- 
nament, still  clings  to  a  foolish,  because  misunderstood  con- 
ventionality, deduced  from  what  was  once  ornament,  and  is 
by  no  means  useful ;  which  title  can  only  be  claimed  by  artis- 
tic practice,  whether  the  art  in  it  be  conscious  or  unconscious. 
In  no  characters  is  the  contrast  between  the  ugly  and  vulgar 
illegibility  of  the  modern  type  and  the  elegance  and  legibility 
of  the  ancient  more  striking  than  in  the  Arabic  numerals. 
In  the  old  print  each  figure  has  its  definite  individuality, 
and  one  cannot  be  mistaken  for  the  other ;  in  reading  the  mod- 
ern figures  the  eyes  must  be  strained  before  the  reader  can 
have  any  reasonable  assurance  that  he  has  a  5,  an  8,  or  a  3 
before  him,  unless  the  press  work  is  of  the  best;  this  is  awk- 
ward if  you  have  to  read  Bradshaw's  Guide  in  a  hurry. 
One  of  the  differences  between  the  fine  type  and  the  utili- 
tarian must  probably  be  put  down  to  a  misapprehension 
of  a  commercial  necessity :  this  is  the  narrowing  of  the  mod- 
ern letters.  Most  of  Jenson's  letters  are  designed  within  a 
square,  the  modern  letters  are  narrowed  by  a  third  or  there- 
about; but  while  this  gain  of  space  very  much  hampers 
the  possibility  of  beauty  of  design,  it  is  not  a  real  gain,  for 
the  modern  printer  throws  the  gain  away  by  putting  in- 
ordinately wide  spaces  between  his  lines,  which,  probably, 
the  lateral  compression  of  his  letters  renders  necessary. 
Commercialism  again  compels  the  use  of  type  too  small  in 
size  to  be  comfortable  reading:  the  size  known  as  "Long 
primer"  ought  to  be  the  smallest  size  used  in  a  book  meant 
to  be  read.  Here,  again,  if  the  practice  of  "leading  "  were 
retrenched  larger  type  could  be  used  witout  enhancing 
the  price  of  a  book. 

One  very  important  matter  in  "setting  up"  for  fine  print- 
ing is  the  "spacing,"  that  is,  the  lateral  distance  of  words 
from  one  another.    In  good  printing  the  spaces  between 
16 


the  words  should  be  as  near  as  possible  equal  (it  is  impos- 
sible that  they  should  be  quite  equal  except  in  lines  of  po-  Essay 
etry ) ;  modern  printers  understand  this,  but  it  is  only  prac-  on 
tised  in  the  very  best  establishments.  But  another  point  Printing 
which  they  should  attend  to  they  almost  always  disregard; 
this  is  the  tendency  to  the  formation  of  ugly  meandering 
white  lines  or  "rivers"  in  the  page,  a  blemish  which  can  be 
nearly,  though  not  wholly,  avoided  by  care  and  forethought, 
the  desirable  thing  being  "the  breaking  of  the  line"  as  in 
bonding  masonry  or  brickwork,  thus:  — ^_=r~  The 
general  solidity  of  a  page  is  much  to  be  sought  for:  mod- 
ern printers  generally  overdo  the  "whites"  in  the  spacing, 
a  defect  probably  forced  on  them  by  the  characterless  qual- 
ity of  the  letters.  For  where  these  are  boldly  and  carefully 
designed,  and  each  letter  is  thoroughly  individual  in  form, 
the  words  may  be  set  much  closer  together,  without  loss 
of  clearness.  No  definite  rules,  however,  except  the  avoid- 
ance of  "rivers"  and  excess  of  white,  can  be  given  for  the 
spacing,  which  requires  the  constant  exercise  of  judgment 
and  taste  on  the  part  of  the  printer. 

The  position  of  the  page  on  the  paper  should  be  considered 
if  the  book  is  to  have  a  satisfactory  look.  Here  once  more 
the  almost  invariable  modern  practice  is  in  opposition  to  a 
natural  sense  of  proportion.  From  the  time  when  books 
first  took  their  present  shape  till  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  or  indeed  later,  the  page  so  lay  on  the  paper  that 
there  was  more  space  allowed  to  the  bottom  and  fore  mar- 
gin than  to  the  top  and  back  of  the  paper,  thus: 


the  unit  of  the  book  being  looked  on  as  the  two  pages  form- 
ing an  opening.  The  modern  printer,  in  the  teeth  of  the  evi- 
dence given  by  his  own  eyes,  considers  the  single  page  as 
the  unit,  and  prints  the  page  in  the  middle  of  his  paper — 

17 


An  only  nominally  so,  however,  in  many  cases,  since  when  he 

Essay  uses  a  headline  he  counts  that  in,  the  result  as  measured  by 

on  the  eye  being  that  the  lower  margin  is  less  than  the  top  one, 

Printing  and  that  the  whole  opening  has  an  upside-down  look  verti- 
cally, and  that  laterally  the  page  looks  as  if  it  were  being 
driven  off  the  paper. 

The  paper  on  which  the  printing  is  to  be  done  is  a  neces- 
sary part  of  our  subject:  of  this  it  may  be  said  that  though 
there  is  some  good  paper  made  now,  it  is  never  used  ex- 
cept for  very  expensive  books,  although  it  would  not  mate- 
rially increase  the  cost  in  all  but  the  very  cheapest.  The 
paper  that  is  used  for  ordinary  books  is  exceedingly  bad 
even  in  this  country,  but  is  beaten  in  the  race  for  vileness 
by  that  made  in  America,  which  is  the  worst  conceivable. 
There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  ordinary  paper  should 
not  be  better  made,  even  allowing  the  necessity  for  a  very 
low  price;  but  any  improvement  must  be  based  on  show- 
ing openly  that  the  cheap  article  is  cheap,  e.  g.,  the  cheap 
paper  should  not  sacrifice  toughness  and  durability  to  a 
smooth  and  white  surface,  which  should  be  indications  of 
a  delicacy  of  material  and  manufacture  which  would  of 
necessity  increase  its  cost.  One  fruitful  source  of  badness 
in  paper  is  the  habit  that  publishers  have  of  eking  out  a 
thin  volume  by  printing  it  on  thick  paper  almost  of  the  sub- 
stance of  cardboard,  a  device  which  deceives  nobody,  and 
makes  a  book  very  unpleasant  to  read.  On  the  whole,  a 
small  book  should  be  printed  on  paper  which  is  as  thin  as 
may  be  without  being  transparent.  The  paper  used  for 
printing  the  small  highly  ornamented  French  service-books 
about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  a  model  in 
this  respect,  being  thin,  tough,  and  opaque.  However,  the 
fact  must  not  be  blinked  that  machine-made  paper  cannot 
in  the  nature  of  things  be  made  of  so  good  a  texture  as 
that  made  by  hand. 

The  ornamentation  of  printed  books  is  too  wide  a  subject 
to  be  dealt  with  fully  here;  but  one  thing  must  be  said  on 
it.  The  essential  point  to  be  remembered  is  that  the  orna- 
ment, whatever  it  is,  whether  pictureor  pattern-work,  should 
18 


form  part  of  the  page,  should  be  a  part  of  the  whole  scheme  An 
of  the  book.  Simple  as  this  proposition  is,  it  is  necessary  Essay- 
to  be  stated,  because  the  modern  practice  is  to  disregard  on 
the  relation  between  the  printing  and  the  ornament  alto-  Printing 
gether,  so  that  if  the  two  are  helpful  to  one  another  it  is  a 
mere  matter  of  accident.  The  due  relation  of  letter  to  pic- 
tures and  other  ornament  was  thoroughly  understood  by 
the  old  printers;  so  that  even  when  the  woodcuts  are  very 
rude  indeed,  the  proportions  of  the  page  still  give  pleasure 
by  the  sense  of  richness  that  the  cuts  and  letter  together 
convey.  When,  as  is  most  often  the  case,  there  is  actual 
beauty  in  the  cuts,  the  books  so  ornamented  are  amongst 
the  most  delightful  works  of  art  that  have  ever  been  pro- 
duced. Therefore,  granted  well-designed  type,  due  spacing 
of  the  lines  and  words,  and  proper  position  of  the  page  on 
the  paper,  all  books  might  be  at  least  comely  and  well- 
looking:  and  if  to  these  good  qualities  were  added  really 
beautiful  ornament  and  pictures,  printed  books  might  once 
again  illustrate  to  the  full  the  position  of  our  Society  that 
a  work  of  utility  might  be  also  a  work  of  art,  if  we  cared 
to  make  it  so. 


NOTE  TO  THE  PRESENT  EDITION:  The  following 
pages  showing  the  Troy  and  Chaucer  types  are  printed 
from  process  blocks  to  insure  fidelity  to  the  originals.  The 
frontispiece  and  first  page  of  text  are  also  reproduced  in 
the  same  manner;  page  one,  within  the  border,  showing  the 
Golden  type,  the  only  other  type  used  by  William  Morris. 


19 


This 
is  the 
Troy 
type 


Cbe  following  passages  arc  given  to 
show  tbe  TTroy  &  Chancer  types,  and 
four  initials  that  were  designed  for 
the  f  roissart,  but  never  used, 

R6  land  is  a  little 
tand,Sirs,toomucb 
shut  up  within  tbe 
narrow  seas,  as  it 
seems,tobavemucb 
space  for  swelling 
intobugenessrtbere 
are  no  greatwastes 
overwhelming  in  tbeir  dreariness,  no 
great  solitudes  of  forests,  no  terri- 
ble untrodden  mountain /walls:  all 
is  measured,  mingled,varied,  gliding 
easily  one  thing  into  another:  little 
rivers,  little  plains,  swelling,  speed- 
ily/changing uplands,  all  beset  with 
handsome  orderly  trees;  little  hills, 
little  mountains,nettedoverwitb  tbe 
walls  of  sheep/walks :  all  is  little ;  yet 
not  foolish  and  blank,  but  serious 
rather,  and  abundant  of  meaning  for 


9if  cb  as  choose  to  seek  it:  it  is  neither 
prison,  nor  palace,  but  a  decent  borne* 

CT)GR  praise  nor 
blame,  but  say  that 
so  it  is:  some  people 
praise  this  homeli- 
ness overmuch,  as 
if  the  land  were  the 
very  axle/tree  of  the 
world;  so  do  not  I,nor  any  unblind- 
ed  by  pride  in  themselves  andall  that 
belongs  to  them :  others  therearewbo 
scorn  it  and  the  tameness  of  it:  not 
X  any  the  more:  though  it  would  in- 
deed be  hard  if  there  were  nothing 
else  in  the  world,no  wonders, no  ter- 
rors, no  unspeakable  beauties,  Yct 
when  we  think  what  a  small  part  of 
the  world's  history,  past,  present,  & 
to  come,  is  this  land  we  live  in,  and 
howmuch  smaller  still  in  the  history 
of  thearts,  &yet  howourf orefatbers 
clung  to  it,  and  with  what  care  and 


This 
is  the 
Troy 
type 


This 
is  the 
Chaucer 
type 


pains  they  adorned  it,  this  unromantic,  un- 
even tf  ul/loohing  landof  Bngland,  surely  by 
this  too  our  hearts  may  be  touched  and  our 
hope  quickened, 

OR  as  was  the  land, 
such  was  the  art  of  it 
while  folh  yet  troub- 
led themselves  about 
such  things ;  it  strove 
little  to  impress  peo- 
ple either  by  pomp  or 
ingenuity:  no  tun  sel- 
dom it  fell  into  com- 
monplace,rarely  itrose 
into  majesty ;  yetwasitnever  oppres/ 
sive,  never  a  slave's  nightmare  or  an 
insolent  boast:  &  at  its  best  it  bad  an 
inventiveness,  an  individuality,  that 
grander  styles  have  never  overpass- 
ed: its  best  too,  and  that  was  in  its 
very  heart,  was  given  as  freely  to  the 
yeoman's  house,  and  the  bumble  vil- 
lage church,  as  to  the  lord's  palace  or 
the  mighty  cathedral:  never  coarse, 
tboughof  ten  rude  enough,  sweet,  na- 
tural &  unaffected,  an  art  of  peasants 
rather  thanofmercbantprincesorcourt/ 
iers,  it  must  be  a  bard  heart,  X  think,  that 
doesnot  love  it :  whetberaman  has  been  born 
among  it  like  ourselves,  or  has  come  wonder/ 


ingly  on  its  simplicity  from  all  the  grandeur 
ovgr/flg*fil&^J4ti£gJ^ 

&&&&&&&&&&&,&&&&& 
And  Science,  we  have  loved  ber  well,  and  fol/ 
lowed  ber  diligently,  what  will  she  do  ?  X  fear 
ebe  is  so  much  in  tbe  pay  of  the  counting- 
-house, the  counting/bouseandtbedrill/ser- 
geant,  that  she  is  too  busy,  and  will  for  tbe 
tpresen  t  do  nothing. 

&C  there  are  matters 
which  X  should  have 
thought  easy  for  ber, 
say  for  example  teach/ 
ing  Manchester  bow 
to  consume  its  own 
smoke,  or  Leeds  bow 
?l  to  get  rid  of  its  super/ 
^  fiuous  blach  dye  with/ 
out  turning  it  into  tbe 
river,wbicb  would  beas  much  worth 
ber  attention  as  tbe  production  of 
tbe  heaviest  of  heavy  blach  silks, 
or  tbe  biggest  of  useless  guns* 
Hnybow,  however  it  be  done,  un- 
less people  care  about  carrying  on 
tbeirbusinesswitboutmahingtbe 
world  hideous,  bow  can  they  care 
about  art?  Iknowitwillcost  much 
both  of  time  and  money  to  better 
these  things  even  a  little;  but  I  do 


This 
is  the 
Chaucer 
type 


not  see  how  these  can  be  betterspent  than  in 
making  lift  cheerful  &  honourable  for  others 
and  for  ourselves;  and  the  gain  of  good  life 
totbecountryatlargetbatwouldresultfrom 
men  seriously  setting  about  the  bettering 
of  the  decency  of  our  big  towns  would  be 
priceless,  even  if  nothing  specially  good  be- 
fell the  arts  in  consequence:  X  do  not  hnow 
that  it  would;  but  X  should  begin  to  think 
matters  hopeful  if  men  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  such  things,  andlrepeat  that,  unless 
they  do  so,  we  can  scarcely  even  begin  with 
any  bopeour  endeavours  for  the  betteringof 
tbeHrts.  (from  the  lecture  called  T^be  Lesser 
Arts,  in  Ropes  and  fears  for  Art,  by  William 
Morris,  pages  22  and  33*) 


The  "Note  by  William  Morris  on  his  Aims  in  Founding  the 

Kelmscott  Press,"  the  last  book  printed  at  the  Kelmscott 

Press,  contains  a  few  errors  in  the  "Bibliography."  These 

errors  have  been  allowed  to  stand  in  reprinting  the  "  Note" 

here,  in  order  that  the  reprint  shall  be  a  literal  one. 

Mr.  S.  C.  Cockerell,  the  former  Secretary  of  the  Kelmscott 

Press,  has  kindly  sent  a  list  of  these  corrections,  which 

appear  below: 

Page  19,  line  21  —  "Golden  type"  should  be  inserted  after 

"8vo." 

Page30,linel6— "June26, 1893,"  shouldbe"  June  26, 1896." 

Page  39,  line  17— after  "guineas"  insert  "ten  on  vellum  at 

ten  guineas." 

Page  40,  line  31 — for  "eight  leaflets"  read,  "nine  or  ten 

leaflets." 

Page  44,  line  12— omit  "Lady." 


HERE  ENDS  THE  ART  AND  CRAFT  OF  PRINTING; 
COLLECTED  ESSAYS  BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS.  OF 
THIS  BOOK  THERE  HAVE  BEEN  PRINTED  TWO 
HUNDRED  AND  TEN  COPIES  BY  CLARKE  CON- 
WELL  AT  THE  ELSTON  PRESS:  FINISHED  THIS 
THIRTIETH  DAY  OF  JANUARY  MDCCCCII.  SOLD 
BY  CLARKE  CONWELL  AT  THE  ELSTON  PRESS, 
PELHAM  ROAD,  NEW  ROCHELLE,  NEW  YORK. 


&i 


